Not long after, Sylvie arrived. The four of them were now left with an empty club. Wooden planks, dowels, baseball bats and pipes were strewn all over the floor.

Specks of blood and shards of black plastic and porcelain littered the hardwood. Sylvie was reprimanded for her late appearance, but it was still appreciated. None of them really knew what to do with their man.

"I deserve a little credit, don't I?" Sylvie restrained the knife wielding lunatic.

"No, not really," Fumi shook her head.

"Alright," Sylvie dragged the unconscious figure to them. "What say you we get some answers for once?"

"That's sadistic," Kazuo complained.

"But we need anything we can get," Fumiko looked away.

"We'll do it. Nothing too harsh. It's cruel, but we need the info. That, and I wanna know why he did it," Tsuki spoke seriously.

"Did what?" asked the blonde.

"Why he stabbed you," Tsuki looked down.

"Is it really that important?" Fumi stood close to Tsukiko.

"I want some closure, alright?" Tsuki looked back up to her.

"I did too, but now, I'm not so sure. I don't want you to go crazy if you end up hearing something you'd rather not hear," Fumiko frowned.

"I'll be fine, really!" Tsuki chuckled.

"You don't sound fine," Kaz interrupted.

"I… I'll be fine, okay? I love you, Fumi," Tsuki kissed her on the cheek.

"I love you too, but--"

The four of them tied the figure to a chair and dragged it to a backroom through the door behind the bar. They left the chair in the middle of the room and kept the room dim, just as Kazuo had insisted. They waited a few minutes to figure out what to do, before splashing ice cold water in the figure's face.

Kazuo stood in front of the figure with his arms crossed, "Make this easy, and you'll get outta here without a scratch."

"And if I don't?" the figure laughed.

"Do you really wanna find out?"

"Alright, ask away. Too bad they don't tell me nothing," the figure faked a frown.

"Who's they?" Kazuo asked.

"The higher ups, the bosses, the people who cut me a check, you know what I mean, don't you. Even a kid like you should know how this works, I mean--," the figure rambled.

"They pay you?" Kaz stepped forward.

"Who's they?" the figure asked innocently before smiling.

Kaz's hand twitched, "Tell me about your bosses."

"You already know Morgan and Flowers, right?" the figure turned to Tsukiko.

"Yeah," Tsuki nodded.

"Wait, Morgan? Flowers?" Sylvie turned to Tsukiko.

"Yeah, I know all about your little rendezvous. You left that guy quite a mess, didn't ya?" the figure chuckled.

"What're you talking about?" Tsukiko moved Kazuo aside as she moved over and stood before the Shakudo.

"You know, that guy's still in the hospital. I think you broke a couple ribs!" the figure turned to Fumiko.

"Tsuki…" Fumiko started.

"She didn't even know the guy's name! You wanna know what it was?" the figure chuckled.

"I don't care what his name was," Tsuki spoke bluntly.

"No, you only care about yourself, ain't that right?" the figure laughed.

"Don't let him get to you," Kaz put a hand on Fumiko's shoulder.

"The one thing I can tell you is that my bosses are pretty mad at you guys," the figure muttered.

"That much is obvious," Sylvie stood in front of the figure.

"I missed that voice. Hey there, Sylvie," the mask looked up at the blonde.

Sylvie reached behind the figure's head and removed the mask, tossing it aside. The face underneath was surprisingly rough. The man's hair was rough and unkempt and he had a short beard. He had scars and wrinkles and a few grey hairs.

"Miss me?" the figure squinted.

Sylvie punched the figure in the jaw, "Enough games, tell me what you know about the Shakudos."

The figure reeled, gritting its teeth, "I don't know anything."

"What do you know?"

"Morgan likes to keep his mouth shut. Keeps everything hidden until right before it needs to be done."

"How'd you know we were coming?" Kazuo asked.

"Was it supposed to be a secret? The only person who keeps a secret is a dead man. Your friend right there doesn't kill," the man moved his head toward Tsukiko.

"This isn't about me," Tsuki stared.

"I'll give you a little tip, Sylvie. Morgan's not gonna be too happy about me getting caught, but I like pissing him off," the man sat up straight.

"What is it?" Sylvie asked.

"If you see any black bottles on the ground, smash 'em," the man spoke bluntly.

The group fell silent for a moment. The man in the chair watched carefully as they all stopped to quietly consider their next move. They all stepped away for a moment, with only Tsukiko staying to watch over him. The rest of the group had their backs to her.

"Why'd you do it?" Tsuki asked quietly

"Do what?" the figure asked.

"Why did you stab her?" Tsuki repeated, slightly louder.

"You think I remember every person I've stabbed?" the figure moved its head from side to side.

Tsuki made her right hand into a fist, "Why did you stab Fumiko?"

"Huh?" Kazuo turned around. "You okay, Tsuki?"

"Why'd you do it?" Tsuki asked again.

"Are you gonna cry?" the figure laughed.

Tsukiko grabbed the figure by the neck and pulled her arm back to punch it, "Tell me!"

"Do you remember why you did the things you've done? Were you even thinking straight when you sent that man to the hospital? When you attacked that police officer with that pipe?" the man's eyes widened.

Tsukiko tried to punch the masked man.

"If it bothers you that much, maybe you should've killed him!" the figure tried his best to anger her.

Kazuo caught her arm, "I don't wanna have to hurt you, Tsuki!"

"Why did you have to hurt her?"

Fumiko ran up and tried to pull Tsukiko back, "It's not worth it, stop it!"

Tsukiko started kicking, "Tell me why you did it, you son of a bitch!"

"I don't know why I did it!"

"That's bullshit!" Tsuki shoved Kazuo and Fumi away.

Fumiko ran forward and punched Tsuki in the jaw, "Stop!

Tsukiko reeled, grabbing her jaw, "Oww, Fumi?"

Fumiko grabbed her hand in pain, "Don't make me do it again."

Tsuki paused and turned to the rest of the group. They all had their hands up, ready to attack her. She looked down at the man in the chair, who had turned to look at her with a blank stare.

Once again, she had almost let her emotions get the best of her. A weight came down onto her shoulders, weakening her will to fight.

"Sorry," Tsukiko sighed.

"Go wait outside, alright?" Kaz pointed at the door.

"But--"

"It's not a punishment, it's for your own good, Tsuki," Kaz insisted.

--

Tsuki and Fumiko had returned to the same old bedroom. They sat together on the edge of the bottom bunk. The lights were off, and a shower of shallow moonlight illuminated the room.

Everything around them was black and pale blue. The blankets and pillows behind them were a mess, and the room was starting to collect dust.

"Haruka says the police came after we left. They took the guy away. Apparently, he's a perfect match," Fumi smiled.

"Really?" Tsuki asked.

"Mhmm."

Tsukiko lowered her head, "Sorry for losing my cool."

"I get it. I was really mad too, that's why I didn't say anything. Part of me wanted you to bash that guy's face in, but I didn't wanna regret it like last time," Fumi sat closer to Tsukiko.

"I wanted to stay calm, but I felt so empty. Why would anyone wanna hurt you?" Tsuki turned to Fumi.

"I don't know, you don't know, and he doesn't know. Sometimes bad people do bad things. Isn't that good enough for you?"

"So I'm supposed to accept that bad things are gonna happen? Bad people are gonna do bad things to good people?" Tsuki took a deep breath.

"Duh."

"Huh?"

"Knights protect good people, Tsuki. Even if you can't prevent it, you can put a stop to it. Isn't that worth something?" Fumiko put her hand on Tsukiko's leg.

"I just feel a little useless right now. I couldn't do anything to that guy. I feel like I didn't do enough for you," Tsuki shook her head.

"I didn't want you to do anything. I don't want revenge, I want you, Tsuki. I'd rather you be useless than dead or in jail," Fumi leaned on Tsukiko's shoulder.

"But I wanna protect you."

"I never said I didn't want you to. That jacket is yours. I can almost see the fire in your eyes," Fumi chuckled. "I want us to be happy together. I don't need anything else."

"What if I wanted to know for myself then? What if I wanted to do it for myself?" Tsuki raised her voice.

"Then I'll stop you when you go too far, like I did tonight. If I know something's driving you crazy, I'm gonna put a stop to it. I'll protect you too. We're in this together," Fumi soothed her.

Tsuki sighed, "I guess I should take what I get, huh?"

"Tsuki, they're putting the man who hurt us in jail. Who knows who else he could have hurt?"

"…you're right," Tsukiko sighed.

There was a short pause. The bed creaked with each motion. It was quiet enough for them to hear each other's movements. Tsuki could hear the fabric of Fumiko's clothes rub against her jacket.

The white noise of the city had been completely muffled by the walls, leaving them alone in silence. Tsuki kept holding her breath in an attempt to keep this silence.

"Can I ask you something?" Fumi stayed on Tsuki's shoulder.

"Yeah," Tsukiko replied.

"Who was that guy talking about anyway?"

"Oh… that…" Tsuki looked away.

"What's wrong?" Fumiko asked.

Tsukiko took a while to answer, "I found the guy that hurt Lily. I wasn't thinking straight, and--"

"Don't tell me you killed someone," Fumi backed away.

"No, no, nothing like that. I just stopped thinking and I hurt him really bad. I didn't really think about it till today, but I felt really guilty when he brought it up," Tsukiko looked at the floor.

"You already know how I feel about that," Fumi slouched.

"Sorry."

"Y'know, I'm surprised you managed to remember what the chief told you," Fumi smiled.

"What do you mean?"

"If you really wanted to, you could've killed those guys. I think you're more aware of that than you think you are," Fumi put a hand on Tsukiko's shoulder.

"How are you so sure?"

"I was there today. I watched you. Last time I saw you use a baseball bat, the guy ended up on crutches."

"It still feels wrong," Tsuki turned red.

"I'm probably a little biased, but I think it's only fair that you got a little crazy," Fumi put her arm around Tsukiko.

There was another pause.

"Well," Tsuki yawned. "What now?"

"Y'know, I'm all alone with my Knight in shining armor…"

"No, I meant like, with the Shakudos," Tsuki scratched her head.

"You've already got a target painted on your back. It's probably easier to let them come to you."

"Heh, you're probably right."

"Now c'mon! You know that skirt drives me crazy…" Fumi drooled as she squeezed Tsukiko's leg.

"Nope, I'm too sleepy," Tsukiko laid back on the bed.

"You're no fun!" Fumi complained.