The grey haired man led her out of her cell and into a back room. Her jacket, hat and belongings laid on the table in the center of the room. She put on her jacket and her hat and started shoving all of her things back into her pockets.

"I hope nothing's missing." Tsuki ran her hands up and down her body.

"They'd better not be losing your things." The Chief growled.

"…and?"

"…and it's coming out of their paycheck." he finished.

"That seems harsh." Tsuki adjusted her sleeves.

"We have a reputation to keep, Miss Himura." he opened the door again and motioned for her to follow him.

The two of them went from bend to bend. They passed offices, cubicles, evidence rooms, and at least one firing range. The place was built like a never ending labyrinth.

It seemed quite unusual that she was being led out through such a long route. It felt like it took forever to finally reach the front desk. All the workers and officers kept giving her strange looks on the way out.

"Sorry about that." The police chief sighed as he opened the final door to the outside world.

"It's fine." Tsuki took a deep breath as she stepped outside.

"Did they mistreat you?" There was a hint of frustration in his voice as he closed the door behind him.

Tsuki rubbed the bump on her head. "They bashed my head when I was getting in the car, but that's about it."

"They did?"

"Yeah."

The chief groaned. "Idiots."

Tsukiko thought for a moment. She tried to decide if her next question was appropriate for the moment.

"Something on your mind?" The chief asked.

"Why did you drop the charges on the guy that burned Lily?" Tsuki asked.

"Tsuki, thats--"

"Morgan told his gang that you set him free. That's why he took him out of the hospital and tried to burn him." Tsuki grew angrier.

"...is that right?" The chief put his hands in his pockets.

"Did you set him free?"

"...yes."

"Why?" Tsukiko asked.

"This isn't your decision to make." The chief looked away.

"I know it isn't, I just wanna know why you did it!" Tsuki stomped.

"Sometimes, I've gotta make hard decisions, and--"

"Just tell me." Tsuki sighed. "It's too late now. It put his life in danger, so it better be important."

The chief sighed. "It's none of your concern, alright?"

"Whose side are you on?" Tsuki looked him in the eye.

"I'm on the side of justice--"

"The side that lets a street gang operate unchecked? The side that lets an arsonist free? The side that arrests the people trying to protect innocent lives?" Tsuki grit her teeth.

"I'd shut my mouth if I were you…'

"Tell me." Tsuki insisted.

The chief put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to stop the Shakudos. That means doing some things that're… irrational."

"Irrational? You're supposed to protect people, not play it fast and loose just to catch a perp!"

"And what are you doing, huh? You're nothing but fast and loose. You walk around Tokyo like you own the damn place!" The chief shouted back.

"Who's the one who came to a hospital room to beg for information? Huh?" Tsuki stood strong.

The chief hissed. "You think you're judge, jury and executioner?"

"No, I'm not. Neither are you. You're supposed to be the one taking them to the judge and jury. If you aren't doing that, what're you good for?" Tsuki looked away.

"The people of this city--"

"Did you let him go too?" Tsuki asked.

"Let who go?"

"You know who."

"...no."

"Good." Tsuki began to step away.

"Is that all you care about?" The chief asked. "That girl you're dating?"

"What do you care about?" Tsuki turned around.

"My job."

"Not about the men in your force, bashing my head, stealing my things, working for gangs? Not about the close to thirty people you just let escape?"

The chief closed his eyes. "You think this is easy?"

"No. I just don't know if I can trust you right now."

"...I'm sorry."

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"Don't apologize."

"What am I supposed to say?"

"You still haven't told me your name." Tsuki turned to him.

"I'm just the police chief. Doesn't matter what my name is." The chief responded with a tough voice.

"It just feels weird to keep calling you that." Tsuki looked him in the eye.

"Folks around here just call you the Third Knight. I guess that makes us equal, right?" he smiled.

"I guess that counts." Tsuki made a strange face.

There was a long, awkward pause.

"You should get going. The others are probably worried sick about you." The Chief hid his face.

Tsuki adjusted her hat. "Guess I'm takin' the long way home."

"Are you sure? It's getting dark. There's some bad people in town and--"

"I can handle myself. You know that." Tsuki cut him off.

"Just… be careful, okay?" his voice trailed off.

Tsuki stopped and turned around. "Thanks, Chief."

Tsukiko stared for a second, before walking away.

--

When Tsukiko arrived at Aurelia's shop, she found a strange sight. Nearly everyone was there. All of them, even Etsuko all craned their heads when she walked in. It was almost disturbing how they looked at her for just a second in complete silence.

"Uhh, hello?" Tsuki awkwardly cut through the quiet.

"There she is!" Fumi clapped.

"What's going on?"

"Look, look!" Fumiko ran over and dragged her over to where they were all huddled.

They were all paying close attention to Shizuka's cell phone. A story from the local news played.

A ticker scrolled along the bottom. "Chaos! Street gangs bring violence and havoc to Tokyo!"

Cellphone footage showed white and black figures fighting in the middle of a street.

A rather attractive looking woman stared at the camera and spoke with a smile.

"A gang war in the Shibuya and Nakano districts led to the temporary closure of a local hospital. Local police have not been able to make any arrests. Eyewitness reports describe them as people in robes and masks. Attacks by masked perpetrators in Tokyo have become more common in recent weeks. This may be a part of a larger, more disturbing trend."

After this story came another. Cellphone footage was spliced together with helicopter footage. To the side were interviews of people on the street.

"Wait, is that--." Tsuki didn't get to finish her thought.

The helicopter footage zoomed and focused on one person in the middle of it all. A girl with black hair and a white jacket was fighting off wave after wave of masked figures. A voice over played, but Tsukiko ignored it as she watched the video playing on the screen.

"…the three women who stayed to defend the hospital are now praised as heroes." The female voice claimed.

Haruka turned to Tsukiko. "yep."

"The local police force has come under fire for their decision to arrest the woman in white. They were also criticized online for their slow response to the attacks in the first place."

It cut to an interview with a woman near the hospital. Battle damage could still be seen in the streets. Police crews were still recovering dropped makeshift weapons and bits of mask.

"I was in the hospital when the first brick came flying through a window." The woman looked very nervous. "Who knows what they were after. I can't even think about what would've happened had those three not been there to hold them off."

The voice cast started again. "People are definitely divided on the issue. Most agree that this is definitely a sign of hope after an increase in violent crime in the region. The local police have begun a proper investigation into the matter."

"We made it onto the news?" Tsuki didn't seem impressed.

"No, even better." Shizuka smiled. "We got our own threads!"

"Wait what?" Tsukiko was suddenly interested.

Shizuka began reading online posts in a booming voice. "Guys, it's The Knights Himura. I told you guys I wasn't lying!"

"I can't believe they're actually real. My friend wouldn't shut up about how he saw one take down a purse thief."

"There's a third one now!"

"Cops suck, praise cutie Himura."

"The one in black's real wife material." Shizuka chuckled reading the last one.

Tsuki grabbed Shizuka's phone. "Wait, they know about the Knights?"

"We used to be pretty well known. Ever since we retired, we've been nothing but an urban legend." Shizuka scratched her head.

"Yep. Now we're really hitting former glory." Haruka proclaimed.

Shizuka scratched her head. "It kinda sucks though. Once everyone knows how tough you are, every thug in the city thinks they can beat you."

"It was a different time." Haruka shrugged.

"God, I hope so. I usually ignored them. Still, I felt really guilty when I had to cave some damn kid's face in just to get to a goddamn corner store." Shizuka sighed.

"Are the Damascenes okay?" Tsukiko jumped back to a more important topic.

Etsuko stepped forward. "They're doin' alright, thanks to you, darling."

"Th-thanks." Tsuki didn't know how to respond.

"You fought good out there, hon." Etsuko smiled.

"They give you any trouble?" Haruka asked.

"Nah, they went down easy! Everybody's in high spirits now that Sylvie's makin' a change."

"Good to hear." Tsuki nodded.

"How's Sylvie doin' anyway?" Etsuko asked.

Haruka answered. "She's doing good. Thanks to us, no one got to her. We're bringing her here for the rest of the treatment tomorrow. Aurelia should have her back up and fighting in a day or two."

"A day or two?" Etsuko had a surprised look. "What're ya a witch or somethin'?"

Aurelia chuckled. "Not quite."

"You'd better hook me up with whatever that is if I ever get hurt, babe." Etsuko winked at the tall blonde.

"…and that girl you fought?" Kazuo cut through the idle chatter.

"Flowers? She's one of the higher ups in the Shakudos, what about her?" Tsuki yawned.

"Well, where'd she go?" Kazuo asked rather bluntly.

"To the ground." Shizuka laughed.

"No, like… Why'd you get arrested, and not her? None of the Shakudos got arrested." Kaz spoke slowly in deep thought.

"I dunno. I got released, so that's good, right?" Tsukiko shrugged.

"But none of the Shakudos got arrested." Kaz repeated.

"Neither did Haru or Shizuka. They took off running!" Tsuki turned to the other two Knights.

"Not my fault. I don't like cops, you know that." Haruka mumbled.

"Cops don't go after leaders unless they know it'll all come crashing down." Shizuka chimed in. "An injured animal is far more dangerous. It goes wild."

"So, why arrest Tsukiko?" Haru asked.

"Had to arrest somebody, right? They already made themselves look like idiots. Problem is, by arresting you, they got people even angrier."

"Still, why you and not the other mooks?" Haruka complained.

"…jail's full? Knowing you guys, they'd probably have to take ‘em in to that hospital first anyways. Two birds with one stone?" Shizuka shrugged.

"Well, it's all been a perfect combination to get everyone to rally behind us. They're probably kicking themselves for that." Haruka beamed.

Tsuki rolled her eyes. "Don't let it get to your head. Everyone'll forget by tomorrow morning."

"Well." Fumi wrapped an arm around Tsukiko. "I won't. Watching you fight is always exhilarating. You really did look like a hero out there."

"Y'all keep tossin' that around, it'll lose its meaning." Etsuko chuckled. "Just do what you usually do. Enough with the fame talk."

"She's right." Haruka nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. Still, it feels good knowing that the Knights are back!" Shizuka pumped her fist.