Hotaru took the lead, taking them through the night to a wide road where the protesters and the Shakudos had come together to regroup and plan the rest of their march through the streets. The Shakudos were all standing at attention, Flowers pacing back and forth before them.

The gang had grown impressively. To Tsukiko's surprise, her goal of recruiting more members had gone a lot smoother than anticipated. What was once a small group of organized men and women in robes and masks was now a militia, made up of any protester, gang member, or brave soul willing to join. The only thing they seemed to share was the fire Flowers, and Tsukiko, had lit in them.

As Tsuki approached the gang, Flowers was in the middle of some heated, passionate speech, but she was too far to hear. The moment she spotted Tsuki, though, Flowers dropped everything and ran over to her. The rest of the gang all turned to follow, and when their gaze fell upon Tsukiko and the two Knights Himura at her side, they all fell silent.

"Tsuki!" Flowers spoke first. "Thank god you're alright."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that." Tsuki lowered her head a bit.

"You just disappeared. I would've sent every last one of us out to look for you if Merlin hadn't shown up and told us you were heading back." Flowers let out a sigh. "...you came back right on time."

"Hotaru said someone's looking for me." Tsuki pressed.

"Yeah." Flowers reached for her phone. "It's this."

Flowers typed out an address into her browser, then scrolled till she found what she was looking for. She raised the screen to show Tsukiko a picture of a window looking out over a river, with a hand in the corner of the frame.

There was a single line of text attached. "Last time I was by the river, you threw me in. I know this is enough for you to find me with. It worked last time, didn't it?"

"Is this some kind of challenge?" Shizuka wondered aloud.

Tsuki stared at the photo for a long time without speaking, and while she knew what Masahiro wanted, she wasn't sure why. She turned to Hotaru, who just looked a bit uneasy.

"He posted this on TKG about half an hour ago." Flowers explained. "I was hoping Tsuki would know what he's talkin' about."

"I know the river he's talking about." Tsuki confirmed. "But I don't recognize the--"

"It's a hospital." Morgan stepped up to them.

"A hospital? How'd you know?" Flowers asked.

Morgan let out a sigh. "I've been there before. A few times."

Shizuka let out a quiet laugh, but Tsukiko kept quiet.

"...what's the call, boss?" Flowers asked. "Could be a trap, right?"

Tsuki turned to Morgan. "You know where it is. You can lead us there."

"Yeah." Morgan just nodded.

Tsukiko took a moment before she spoke. "Then, we go."

"You sure?" Haruka asked.

"Yeah." Tsukiko nodded. "There's no point in lookin' a gift horse in the mouth."

"It's risky." Haruka cautioned her. "He's got a reason to want your head."

Tsuki sighed. "But he's got plenty of reasons to be on my side too. If he's got something to tell me, it has to be important."

"Right." Flowers nodded, then turned to rally up the gang.

"Wait." Tsuki stopped her. "You stay here. We can't leave the protesters."

"Tsuki." Haruka stared.

Tsuki looked at her. "...these are the kinds of decisions I have to make."

Haruka lowered her gaze. "I know..."

"...I won't go alone." Tsuki tried her best to reassure her sister. "If anything bad happens, I'll come running right back. Trust me. I'll be back."

"You don't have to rub my nose in it." Haruka looked away. "You know I can't stop you."

Tsukiko didn't like Haruka's response, but there was nothing more she could do. She hoped, deep down, that things would be better once everything settled.

Tsuki then spoke to Shizuka. "Can I count on you, Shizuka?"

"For what?" Shizuka perked up.

"Watch over the gang. They're not gonna mess with you." Tsuki offered.

"Damn straight." Shizuka tugged on her black and gold sleeve. "I was born to lead this gang."

"Morgan, Hotaru." Tsukiko commanded. "You two come with me."

"Just us?" Morgan asked.

"Who else could I need?"

--

From the outside, it looked like a small, unassuming place, a whole lot smaller than Tsuki'd expected when she heard what it was. It was only a few floors tall, and it looked like it'd been built a long time ago, and only modernized over the years with a few tacked on expansions.

Morgan silently passed through the sliding front doors and into the dimly lit waiting room. Tsuki and Hotaru followed him in, everything inside all off-white and poorly lit.

"Just stay cool and follow me." Morgan said.

Only a few scattered souls sat in that waiting room, none of them giving the group any mind, just keeping their heads down. The receptionist raised their head, took one look at them, then looked back down at their desk, too busy to ask who they were or why they'd walked through those doors. Morgan just kept on walking right past them.

Tsukiko hated the place. The corridors were so much darker than the entrance, almost pitch black in places, and there was a sickly sweet smell that clashed with the stench of alcohol. None of the doctors or patients seemed to mind as she followed Morgan through the place, all of them probably too tired to care.

The more empty rooms they passed, the more frantic Morgan seemed to get in his search, his head swinging left and right as he passed down the hall. He checked each of the doors and windows, but every light was off, and inside, the patients were all asleep. Then, he turned the final corner and found a single room, white light pouring out of the open doorway. It was then that Morgan had found his target, and he started slowly pacing toward it.

The three of them stopped right at the edge of the doorway, Morgan motioning for Tsuki and Hotaru to step in. Hotaru refused, as did Morgan, both of them turning to Tsukiko. The former Knight let out a quiet sigh, then stepped past them, and into the bright room, the white lights inside blinding her.

Tsukiko squinted, stepping forward slowly as her eyes adjusted. Masahiro was there, slowly turning his wheelchair around to greet her. His eyes were tired and red, with dark bags under them. One of his legs stuck out, covered in a long, extended cast, and the other was covered in bandages and gauze. He still had bruises in all the places she'd struck him. Masahiro had a very slight smile on his face, but all Tsuki could feel for him was pity.

"You found me." Masahiro said. "...I knew you would."

"Yeah." Tsukiko nodded, unsure what more to say.

"To be honest, I didn't plan this far ahead." Masahiro let out a strange sound. "So this is how it ends, huh?"

Tsukiko shook her head. "It should've ended back at the construction site."

"Don't start taking the high road now, you're the reason I'm here." Masahiro whined. "After I fell, you ran off, left me to the wolves."

"You knew the risk. Don't throw a punch if you can't win the fight." Tsuki hissed.

"You almost killed me." Masahiro said firmly.

"...you know I never wanted any of that." Tsukiko stood firm.

Masahiro went quiet. "...I know."

"Then why blame me?"

"Who the hell else am I supposed to blame?" Masahiro muttered.

"It was your own decision to come after me, to attack me, to threaten my..." Tsukiko stopped herself. "...forget it. No point in playing this game."

Masahiro didn't speak.

"...it's Ishikawa's fault." Tsukiko lowered her head. "It was all his idea, wasn't it?"

"Everything going on right now is his fault." Masahiro hissed. "That fucking idiot. Now everything's gone to shit."

Tsuki shook her head. "You don't have to keep on going. Why're you still doing this? Why're your men still attacking me, attacking the protesters?"

"Did you expect me to just... rot in some hospital room or sit at home while the man who fucked me over tried to make a fool out of me?" Masahiro shifted his weight in the chair. "You should be grateful, I'm defending your honor."

"My honor doesn't need defending." Tsukiko glared. "Your men are making a fucking mess all around the city."

"Is that what you're really worried about right now?" Masahiro looked at her in disbelief. "You've got a price on your head and you're worried about my men? About protesters?"

"Yeah." Tsuki nodded slightly. "Tell them to stand down. Tell them to stop."

"Get your priorities straight." Masahiro scoffed. "It's not that easy."

"I can make things so much worse for you." Tsuki glared.

"Don't threaten an injured man." Masahiro scolded her like a misbehaving child. "D'you know what happens to someone when they're too weak to lead their gang?"

Tsuki stared.

"You remember. You remember what happened to Sylvie." Masahiro continued.

As the words left his mouth, Morgan barged in.

"You don't know the first thing about Sylvie Fontaine." Morgan stepped closer to the wheelchair.

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"Who're..." Masahiro paused to take a good look at him. "...what do you care? You're the one who left. You're the one that damn near wiped her and her gang out."

"And I respect who she's become." Morgan replied.

"Stabbing someone in the back, then saying you respect them?" Masahiro's words were sharp.

"Can't a man have regrets?" Morgan stared.

"Regrets." Masahiro laughed. "The fuck're you talking about?"

"Prison changes a man. If I were you, I'd be taking a long hard look into every time I fucked up over the last six months." Morgan stepped closer. "Unlike you, Sylvie's dragged herself outta hell over and over and she's still alive and kicking. What'd you do for Themis besides sell out?"

Masahiro glared. "I didn't sell out."

"So you worked with the cops for free?" Morgan countered. "And Ishikawa let you out of a cell every time Tsukiko caught you cuz he was being nice?"

"I'm not a fucking sell out!" Masahiro defended himself. "I did what I had to do to keep the gang alive. Now look out there. You're the one begging me to make them stop."

"You forget who's in the wheelchair." Tsukiko reminded him. "Like I said, I can make this hard, or I can make it easy."

"You do anything to me and I'll--" Masahiro stopped himself.

Morgan smiled at him.

Masahiro looked away. "Fuck you."

"Why'd you call me here, anyway?" Tsukiko asked.

"Oh." Masahiro paused. "It's..."

Tsuki leaned in closer.

Masahiro hesitated, looking like he was about to speak, but stopping himself.

"Tell me." Tsuki said. "Make it all worth my while, or I'll force you to make your men stand down."

"They were never my men." Masahiro blurted out. "By the time I met Ishikawa, it was half cops and half... teenagers he hired off the street. He was paying kids to go after you, all for some petty bullshit."

"Then who're all those people still fighting for you, going around attacking protesters on the street?" Morgan pressured him.

"Just a few stragglers, a few idiots still loyal to what the gang used to be." Masahiro spoke quickly. "Some of them still think I'll lead 'em to victory against the police."

"And their leader's stuck in a wheelchair." Morgan said.

"Yeah." Masahiro closed his eyes. "What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to say? I just wanna be a thorn in Ishikawa's ass one last time."

Tsukiko spoke. "I think I can lead them."

"You?" Masahiro made a strange face.

Tsukiko pointed to her own mask. "You know the name Izanami. You probably knew it before everybody else, and you definitely recognize the mask."

"You don't need all of that. Everyone already knows who you are. That's why you're scary." Masahiro looked away. "...but that mask's bad luck. You're asking for trouble."

"Why's that?" Tsukiko asked.

"Taking on the mantle of one of the most infamous gangs in the city is like putting a big red target on your back." Masahiro cautioned.

Tsukiko laughed. "I've always had a target on me."

Masahiro simply shook his head. "Not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?"

Masahiro looked over at Morgan, then at Tsukiko. "When the Knights retired we had a good couple years of peace. Then came the Shakudos, and everything blew up. They're a ticking timebomb."

Tsuki stared at him, and didn't say a word.

"It can get worse." Masahiro looked at her. "It can get so much worse."

"Then I'll face the consequences myself." Tsukiko declared.

Masahiro went quiet.

"What'll it be?" Tsuki asked.

"That's not a decision I can make." Masahiro shook his head.

"Then why'd you make the post? Why call her here?" Hotaru stepped inside. "Tell her the truth, you coward."

Masahiro turned to her. "Hotaru?"

Tsuki turned to the door too, as did Morgan. All eyes fell on Hotaru.

Hotaru stopped herself, hesitating, as if she realized what she'd just done. "...yeah."

"Hotaru? You're--" Masahiro paused. "No. What're you doing with her? Why're you here?"

Hotaru looked at him for a good long while before answering. "I'm... I'm doing my job."

"Job." Masahiro repeated. "You're a cop now?"

"No." Hotaru shook her head.

"Then what?"

"I work for the Ministry of Justice." Hotaru explained. "I've been helping Tsukiko this whole time."

"Shouldn't you arrest her?" Masahiro asked. "Aren't you all lookin' for her? She's right here, take her in!"

Hotaru simply shook her head.

"Is that how bad it's gotten?" Masahiro took a deep breath before finally speaking. "Everything's a lot more complicated than I thought it was."

"Everything's too complicated for you, you goddamn idiot." Hotaru hissed.

"Is this supposed to be revenge?" Masahiro asked.

"No." Hotaru shook her head. "I'm not interested in stopping you, I'm trying to take down Ishikawa."

"...then I guess we all had the same idea." Masahiro lowered his head. "That fuckin' son of a bitch has it comin'."

"Is that why you called me?" Tsukiko asked.

Masahiro didn't answer.

"How the hell did you plan on doing that?" Hotaru almost laughed. "You think you're gonna cause a big enough scene to get him to, what, resign?"

Masahiro smirked. "It's working isn't it? Half the city's out on the streets marching, and they all want his head on a pike. Look at the news, the whole world's watching. Be grateful."

"They're marching because of Tsukiko, not cuz of you." Hotaru corrected him. "You're stirring the pot for no reason."

"Ishikawa took their freedom, locked everyone away for his stupid curfew." Masahiro corrected her. "She's just the excuse he used to justify it. They couldn't care less."

"So what the hell are your men trying to accomplish?" Hotaru raised her voice. "How is attacking the protesters going to help anyone?"

"I'm not gonna go down all quiet and scared." Masahiro's pride took the better of him. "I don't care if it's my last breath, I'm gonna--"

"Oh shut the hell up." Hotaru cut him off. "You're a coward. You've always been a coward, always running away."

Everything went quiet. Hotaru had to stop herself and calm herself down.

Masahiro sighed. "I still remember the day you left. All of a sudden, you had a conscience. Guilty about everything."

"We had a lot of things to feel guilty about." Hotaru said bluntly.

"You could've stopped it if you really wanted." Masahiro said.

"Like hell I could." Hotaru resisted. "You kept dragging Junko around and doing everything you could to get her on your side."

"Junko?" Tsuki asked.

"Hotaru's kid sister." Masahiro explained.

"She's in high school now." Hotaru countered. "She's not a kid anymore. I'm not a kid anymore either, and neither are you."

"Why the change of heart?" Morgan asked. "Lookin' at you now, I never would've taken you as the type, but..."

Hotaru glanced at Masahiro, then turned to Morgan. "It's because of the Knights."

"Huh?"

"It was a... robbery. It didn't go like we planned. Everyone else goes in before me, and when I get inside..." Hotaru hesitated. "A woman a whole head taller's staring me down. It was Shizuka standing over me. That was the first time I ever saw one of the Knights Himura. I got so scared I couldn't move. She grabbed me and tossed me aside like I was nothing."

"Yep. that sounds like her." Tsuki almost smiled.

"I've been threatened with guns, knives... I've had people try to hit me with their car. I'd ran from the cops before, I'd ran from other gangs. None of it bothered me." Hotaru continued. "But that look on her face. I'll never forget it. I've never been that scared again."

Morgan looked at Masahiro. "So, what about you? Did she beat the hell outta you?"

"Nah." Masahiro muttered. "I ran like hell."

"Like I said. He's always been a coward." Hotaru ribbed.

"You weren't any better." Masahiro muttered.

Hotaru sighed, pretending to ignore his response. "After that, I left the gang and started looking around for a job, started failing upward. It all happened so fast, all a blur. A couple years later, I had my own team at the Ministry."

"So why're you down here and not some office?" Morgan asked. "I thought your type was more about reports and research, not boots on the ground."

Hotaru went silent for a moment. "I made a mistake."

"What kind of mistake?"

Hotaru looked down at her boots. "...being a young woman when you work in law enforcement does you no favors. I never would've made it in if my mentor didn't stick his neck out for me."

"They fired you for that?" Morgan asked.

Hotaru shook her head. "The group I worked for is more of a watchdog. During an investigation, all you can do is watch, gathering information until you defer to the right authority, and hope they do the work. I acted out of line, made a bad call I don't regret."

"What happened?" Morgan watched Hotaru.

"My experience with Themis naturally led to me being chosen for domestic gang troubles." Hotaru eyed Masahiro. "It's not just petty thieves and street fights. I dealt with all kinds of things, smuggling, trafficking, selling illicit material, weapons trading, the worst."

"I know that side too well." Morgan frowned.

"Back then, Shizuka'd up and vanished, and suddenly there was a lot more space for these gangs to take up without much pushback. It was hell." Hotaru winced as she remembered. "A particularly nasty gang, I won't say their name, tried to recruit my sister, got violent when she said no."

Masahiro sighed. "They went after Junko."

"My sister... spent a lotta time with me and Masahiro. She knew better. She knows everything we did. Makes it hard to talk sometimes." Hotaru stopped to collect herself. "When I heard, I just about lost it. I shouldn't've been on that case to begin with, but... I grabbed a chain and the moment I spotted their leader, some kid, I beat him so bad..."

Morgan averted his eyes, looking down at the tire on Masahiro's wheel chair. Masahiro shrunk uncomfortably under his gaze.

"You know what a gang does to those kinds of kids. It wasn't just my sister. It was all kinds of poor kids getting thrown to the wolves, ripped apart." Hotaru fidgeted, hesitating in her speech. "I lost it. I just lost it. I couldn't just sit around and watch. Best case scenario, I handed the whole thing over to someone else, hoping they'd be merciful. Worst case, a police squad beats 'em half to death for the crime of being stupid."

Morgan nodded quietly.

"After that, they started digging more into my past, digging into my time in Themis, looking for any excuse to get rid of me." Hotaru let out a low sigh. "My mentor put his neck out for me again. Early retirement so I could keep my job. They didn't keep up their end of the bargain."

"Corrupt from bottom to top." Morgan muttered.

"I still believe in what I'm doing. If I didn't... I guess I wouldn't be here." Hotaru admitted.

"That's fucked up." Masahiro said.

"Huh?" Hotaru turned to him.

"...it's fucked up what they did to you." Masahiro repeated. "You didn't deserve it."

"Too late anyway..." Hotaru nodded slightly. "I don't like to think about what I do or don't deserve. There's nothing I can do about it."

"Guess we both got screwed over by the cops." Masahiro laughed weakly.

"Shut up." Hotaru cut him off. "I got punished trying to help people. You nearly got yourself killed. It'll be a miracle if you're on your feet again by the end of the year. You sold yourself out and you sold out your own men."

"I didn't sell out, goddamnit." Masahiro grit his teeth.

"Then what have you done in the years I've been gone?" Hotaru glared. "My job was to watch gangs and I didn't hear a damn thing. You've been sitting on your ass coasting off of what I built."

"You built?" Morgan narrowed his eyes.

"She didn't tell you?" Masahiro smiled. "She was our leader."

Masahiro looked at Tsukiko, as if wanting to read the look on her face. She just stared right back at him, her lips curling into a slight smile.

"Was." Hotaru clarified. "I was the leader. I'll take responsibility, unlike you. You took your men and made them do Ishikawa's dirty work. You're a fraud."

Masahiro could only hiss in anger, his hands made into fists that he couldn't do anything with. He was powerless.

Tsukiko spoke. "Still thinking about my offer?"

Masahiro kept quiet.

"Masahiro."

"You came here to mock me and you're still asking for favors?" Masahiro replied.

"You're the one who called me." Tsuki smiled, just a bit. "I thought you wanted to be a thorn in his ass. Or did you just call me here cuz you were feeling lonely?"

"I don't really know why I called you here." Masahiro finally admitted. "...who else was I supposed to reach out to? I'm here. I can't even move. Who else is willing to hear me out? I just didn't expect Hotaru to be here."

"Let me lead your men." Tsukiko pressed him again. "You know I'll get revenge on him. You know who I am. You've seen me."

"What's your plan?" Masahiro looked up at her. "Why do you want this so badly?"

"I want to make the biggest gang in Tokyo's history." Tsukiko declared. "I want... thousands of people behind me, enough to make an army."

Masahiro just kept staring.

"So what is it?"

Masahiro lowered his head. "Do you really wanna hear me say it?"

"Simple yes or no." Tsukiko watched him.

"...I'll do what I can."

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