Tsuki'd fallen asleep with Fumi at her side in a back office of the Damascene's warehouse, resting on another mattress laid out on another unfamiliar floor. It wasn't uncomfortable, definitely not with her girlfriend at her side, the smell of her perfume felt like love and safety. Still, she longed for the day she could go home. Tsuki longed to sit on her old couch and listen to records all night long.

Slowly, Tsuki lowered her head and relaxed her body again, hoping to drift back to sleep. She was dead tired from all the running around and fighting and planning and talking and the stress of everything weighing on her shoulders like a thousand pound slab of stone.

She wished she could go back and have the rest of that dream, to experience being some tragic hero in another world with the girl she loved. Tsuki wanted nothing more than to fight criminals and make love to a pretty lady, but life had made it all too complicated, too risky. Thinking about it that way made her feel kind of stupid.

Then came the first knock at the door. Tsukiko ignored it, of course. She was too tired to get up, a special kind of exhausted that needed about sixteen hours of sleep and a bath to take care of. The knocks came again, slow and soft. If she pretended she didn't hear, eventually, the person on the other side would go away.

The person at the door didn't go away. They kept knocking and knocking and knocking, keeping Tsukiko away from a peaceful, blissful sleep. She checked her phone to see the time, and through squinting eyes, she could see that it was about fifteen minutes before eleven. Her phone buzzed in her hand with a message.

"Get up." The message was short and blunt, and attributed to Claudia.

Tsuki sat up slowly, not wanting to disturb poor Fumiko. She rolled to her side carefully to break out of Fumi's grasp and leave her in a good position to sleep in, covering her with the rest of the thin blue blanket they'd shared.

Fearing the worst, Tsukiko got up to her feet as quietly as she could muster, buttoning her shirt back up and pulling on her high heels before opening the door and stepping out from the backroom. Claudia was standing there, waiting for her a few paces away from the door.

"What is it?" Tsukiko spoke in nearly a whisper.

Claudia, predictably, didn't speak.

"Tsukiko!" Someone called out her name from within the warehouse.

Tsuki followed Claudia out from the back of the warehouse and out onto the stage, hoping to get a good view of whoever was shouting her name.

"Where's Tsukiko?" They demanded.

Any other day, Tsukiko would've been ready to just walk up to whoever it was and give him a sharp, right handed reply, especially since the poor bastard had ruined her sleep. Once she'd stepped onto the stage and caught a glimpse of Kazuo's face, her heart sank in her chest. The Shakudos had formed a semi-circle before him, a wall to protect Tsukiko, but she stepped off the stage and pushed right through them.

"Tsuki." Kazuo's body visibly relaxed as she stepped toward him.

He had one hand balled into a fist, and another hand loose and ready to reach for the revolver in the holster under his coat. Tsuki wasn't sure if Kazuo was willing to shoot anyone, but he definitely wasn't going to give up his advantage.

Claudia looked up at Tsukiko with a pitiable look on her face, but just for a second, before her lips curled back up into a slight smile.

"What're you doing here?" Tsukiko stared him down.

"I want to help." Kazuo spoke firmly.

"Help with what?"

Kazuo let out a sigh. "...don't make me say it."

"...you can't be here." Tsuki's gaze broke away.

"Nothing's stopping me." Kazuo spoke firmly.

"Haru's gonna be worried sick." Tsuki gave him a half-hearted excuse.

Kazuo replied quickly. "She's already worried enough about you."

Judging by the look on his face, there was no convincing him otherwise. In truth, Tsuki was less concerned about how her sister felt and more about what she'd do to him if she found out.

"...trying to abandon you wasn't right." Kazuo lowered his head.

"Haru didn't--"

"Yes, she did." Kazuo cut her off. "She can say whatever she wants, but she's running away from the problem."

"She's trying to protect you."

"And I'm protecting her." Kazuo countered. "How could I let my own wife throw her family away just cuz she's scared? I'm doing this for her too."

"Fine. Suit yourself." Tsukiko took a long, drawn out breath. "But if she comes swinging at me for it, it'll be your ass."

"...right." Kazuo nodded slowly. "I can handle her."

"She's lucky to have you." Tsukiko spoke bluntly.

The Shakudos backed away, understanding that Kazuo was an ally. At first, Tsukiko was a bit startled with how well they could read her intent, but now, it felt right. Her presence was enough to make them fall into line. With the gang's silent approval, Kazuo could finally relax and move his hand away from his gun.

"You wouldn't show up empty handed." Tsukiko looked at him. "So what's up?"

Kazuo opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated a bit. "A... friend... of ours stopped by the Agency last night, explained you needed help."

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"A friend?"

"Sylvie."

Tsukiko didn't know what to say. She didn't really want to ask about it either. She just let Kazuo keep talking.

"I did a little digging on her-- well, your behalf." Kazuo replied. "I found something, but you're going to have to come with me. Bring some of your men with you."

"Huh?" Tsukiko narrowed her eyes.

"Trust me on this." Kazuo urged her. "I'll explain it when we get there, but we've gotta move now."

"...alright."

--

Kazuo had led Tsukiko and a group of four Shakudos to an abandoned building a few blocks from the Damascene warehouse, a derelict and long forgotten financial institution of some kind, rotted out with smashed in windows and a boarded over door. The metal on the window and door frames had lost its paint long ago, and the bare material itself had begun to rot and rust. The painted stone exterior had darkened in wet spots from decades of rain that the peeled roof could no longer shield it from.

At first, Tsukiko wasn't entirely impressed, but when she spotted a white van parked just outside and immediately recognized the dents on the side, a sly smile slowly crept across her face. Just the sight of it was enough to put a spring in her step as she approached the front door, Kazuo and the Shakudos following a few meters behind.

"C'mon, wait up." Kazuo caught up with her as she stopped by the front door.

Judging by the layers and layers of dust and grime on the front door, the building had been abandoned for quite a while, but a suspiciously clean handle revealed the truth.

"Tsuki?" Kazuo tried to get an answer out of her.

"I know who's in here." Tsuki stared at the door. "...and I was hoping I'd find them again."

"Sylvie mentioned 'em last night." Kazuo looked at her. "I walked past, looked around, and--"

Tsukiko pulled the door open.

"Wait, hold on!" Kazuo tried to slow her down to no avail.

It was dark inside, not quite pitch black, but the ambient light coming through the windows was nowhere near enough to illuminate the place. It was past noon now, so the summer sun was really beating down on the place, making the interior hot and unpleasantly humid.

Further inside, Tsuki could hear the mechanical droning whirr of a big fan, not unlike those back at the Damascene warehouse. The stench of mildew was oppressive, and the air was thick with it. The ceiling had rotted in, the once white tiles stained black and starting to sag inward.

Front and center was a reception desk, covered in tons and tons of scrap paper, and just like she'd expected, there was garbage at one of the corners, all food wrappers and tissues and the like. Beyond the desk was an opening that led to a hallway lined with shut doors.

At the end of the hall was a larger open space, lit with a few shadows, all moving back and forth quietly. Without hesitation, she started pacing toward them, her boots echoing down the hall. Kazuo and the Shakudos followed close behind.

The shadows suddenly started darting around, and a person quickly came into view, stopping at the sight of her to call his comrades. Tsukiko tugged on her gloves as several people turned the corner and started pushing down the hallway toward her. The Shakudos quickly moved to her side, ready to protect their leader.

"Just say the word, boss." One of them muttered.

"Don't call me that."

"...Izanami, then." The Shakudo corrected himself.

Tsukiko rolled her eyes.

The same four idiots that'd tried to attack her back at the Damascene warehouse approached with irritated faces, all piss and vinegar and ready to attack. Once they saw who their intruder really was, they recoiled.

"You again?" Their leader stepped up, intimidated but brave enough to push past his men. "What the hell do you want?"

"I've come to collect a debt."

Tsuki could still see the bruises and marks she'd left all over them. They subconsciously grasped at where she'd beaten them.

"What debt?"

Tsuki couldn't wipe the smirk off her face. "You know what I want."

"...what?" Their leader narrowed his eyes.

Tsukiko pulled her mask off, revealing her whole face. "Your boss."

The man's eyes widened a bit, then he looked away, squeezing his hand into a fist. His eyes darted back and forth, as if he was looking to his comrades for help, but they just couldn't do anything for him.

Kazuo put a hand on Tsukiko's shoulder. "...I was gonna tell you something important before you went stomping in."

Tsuki kept her eyes forward. "Yeah?"

"Most of Themis has been running around without a leader since Masahiro fell. These guys wouldn't be taking orders from him directly."

"Is that true?" Tsukiko interrogated the men.

"...yeah." Their leader replied.

"So that's how he's trying to stay hidden." Tsukiko scoffed. "So you're fighting a war for someone you don't even know still exists?"

"We used to run our own gang, but... join or die. That's what we were told." The man let out a defeated sigh. before realizing just who it was he was speaking to. "Is that good enough for you?"

"It's only a matter of time before Ishikawa knocks down those doors and sends your ass to jail." Tsukiko looked him in the eye.

"...huh?"

"Ishikawa's coming after me." Tsukiko began to explain. "You don't think he'll come after you?"

"That's your business."

"It's yours too." Tsukiko stared at him.

"...we're not selling anybody out."

"He sold you out." Tsukiko reminded him. "He gave Ishikawa everything he wanted."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Where'd all the gangs go? Join or die, remember?" Tsukiko grinned. "Now Themis is too weak to defend itself. The cops marching down, street by street. It's only a matter of time till they come knocking on your door."

"You really think Masahiro sold us all out?" The man asked, but his voice sounded like he'd already figured out what his truth was.

"I know he did." Tsukiko spoke slowly, with emphasis behind each word.

"Where's the proof?" He pressed.

Tsukiko smirked. "I turned him in myself and... he's around, isn't he? Ishikawa shut down the whole city trying to get to me. What'd Masahiro do that I didn't?"

"It's always about the bigger fish."

"He attacked a fucking police conference and got away."

"Hey, you dug your own damn grave!" The man stopped himself. "...seriously, what'd you do to piss Ishikawa off?"

Tsukiko didn't have a good answer for him.

"So what do you want us to do?" The man looked at her. "We don't know where he is. We can't tell you."

"I'll need every man I can get." Tsukiko looked him in the eye. "I'm taking every last inch of the city, then I'll take down Ishikawa himself."

"You're crazy."

"Join me or die." Tsukiko smiled. "Your choice."