The Knights Himura

#35: Redhead Justice

The group stood before the First Knight. They sought knowledge and refuge in Shizuka's home. It wasn't the best place to go, but it had a roof and walls.

Despite the progress made by both Tsukiko and Haruka, she still enjoyed the indoors far too much. Her home was still as messy as always. Shizuka didn't allow them to clean or move things around.

There was a harsh, ingrained method to her madness. Everything was where it should be, at least in her head.

The others weren't concerned about her having a clean place to live. They just struggled to understand her way of doing things.

Shizuka laid on her side, with a blanket over her. She was in complete comfort, as if to show that she was the master of her odd domain. She had a smile on her face as she relaxed in the cool air.

On the outside, it was a somewhat sad sight, but each of them could sympathize with her in a way. Tsukiko felt that she understood Shizuka more than the others.

"Where's Haruka?" Tsuki asked.

"Asleep." Sylvie groaned with her eyes shut as she ran her hand down her face, her peace disrupted.

"You look tired yourself." Shizuka stared with a rather disturbing yet plain look on her face.

"We're all kinda tired." Kazuo yawned.

"I feel fine." Tsuki chimed in.

Shizuka looked at her from the corner of her eye. "You sure about that?"

"Yeah, I'm f--." Tsukiko yawned. "...fine, thanks."

"I have pillows if anyone wants to stay the night." Shizuka's mouth curled into a grin.

"I... uhh... well... hmmm..." Sylvie struggled to answer.

"It's weird at first, but then it's kinda nice. You should try it, it'll do wonders for your back." Tsuki nodded.

"How the heck does sleeping with Shizuka help your back?"

"I was talking about sleeping on the floor, jackass. She can get... cuddly, though." Tsukiko played with her fingers awkwardly.

Shizuka's grin became a bit more mischievous. "Only sometimes!"

"...let's cross that bridge when we come to it, alright?" Kazuo killed the conversation. "Hopefully you all remember why we're here."

Sylvie raised her hand. "Cuz Aurelia kicked us out cuz she's busy?"

Kaz scratched his head. "That's about half of it."

Shizuka frowned. "Is that all this is? I'm only around when you have nowhere to go?"

"You know that isn't true. I visited you a couple days ago." Tsukiko spoke clearly.

"Oh yeah, huh..."

"Don't act like you don't remember. If you wanna hang out some more, just ask, alright?"

Shizuka's frown faded. "...thanks, Tsuki."

Tsukiko moved closer to the First Knight.

Sylvie had a look of guilt on her face as she tried to change the topic. "S-so, we should try to figure out how the Shakudos work."

"Why?" Kaz asked.

"Cuz... I have no clue what they're doing, or why they exist, or why they even split off in the first place." Sylvie admitted.

"When did they split?" Tsuki sat up straight.

"Should be around the time Fumiko was stabbed, right?" Kazuo ran his finger across the floor.