"...and that's where we'll find them." Kazuo finished outlining a massive plan on a sheet of blank paper.
Once more, they all sat at the same table inside of the same mysterious shop. Haruka was next to Kazuo, sitting so close that she was practically in his lap.
Tsukiko and Shizuka sat across from them. The two of them exuded an incredible contrast from one another. One white, one black, one messy, one clean.
"Okay, but where's my part again?" Haruka accidentally smudged some of the ink on the paper.
"Careful! Now I gotta redraw the lines!" Kazuo complained as he uncapped his pen.
"Kaz, that's the third damn time." Shizuka groaned.
"Fine!" Kaz crumpled up the paper and tossed it to the side, where it landed next to several other discarded ideas.
"Kaz... They're a street gang." Haruka spoke calmly.
"and?"
"How would you know where they would be, or what they would do?" Shizuka cut in.
"Well, it's obvious that--"
"Our plans haven't gone very smoothly before, have they?" Tsukiko agreed with the others.
"Yeah, so?" Kazuo's voice grew quieter.
"You can't plan for something you can't predict, Kaz." Shizuka shook her head.
"You can't just run in there." Kaz grew more and more frustrated.
Shizuka looked Kaz in the eye. "We'll be fine, and you know that. Besides, if we sit around waiting, they'll come to us, remember?"
Kazuo sighed. "Can't we at least do something other than run in?"
"Aren't we doing that right now?" Tsuki asked. "Just gimme a quick recap. Anything helps."
Kazuo sighed in exhaustion. "We know where Flowers is."
"Yeah, I got that part." Tsuki nodded.
"Now we have to go to said place, and take down Flowers." Haruka cracked her knuckles.
"Why?" Shizuka raised her hand.
"So... she'll stop fighting?" Haruka spoke as if the answer was obvious.
"She didn't stop the last two times that Tsuki beat her. Why would she stop now?"
"Maybe we can get info out of her?" Kaz pondered out loud.
"And how do we guarantee it's good info? She doesn't seem the honest type." Shizuka countered.
"You're right."
Tsukiko shook her head. "Anything helps."
"Well, it's not like we can ignore it." Haruka sighed.
"Ignore what?" Tsuki asked.
"She's waiting for us at a diner by the river. Some Damascenes came back to base all bruised up, telling Sylvie to tell you." Kaz chuckled a little bit.
"Y'know, I never expected to be working with the Damascenes. Just a few weeks ago, I thought they were the enemy." Tsuki laid her head on her arms.
"Be grateful." Shizuka smiled. "I would've killed for friends like those when I was your age."
"Why?" Haruka asked.
"You know how much of a pain it was back in the day to go after a whole gang by myself? It feels nice to have at least one of them backing me for once."
YOU ARE READING
The Knights Himura
Mystery / ThrillerWhen someone precious to her is stabbed by a masked assailant, Tsukiko Himura vows to find out who's responsible. Her search uncovers a brewing conflict between two rival gangs. The safety of her beloved city hangs in the balance. Following in her s...
