/!\ Hey, guys! Remember—the tenth chapter marks the beginning of the Canon story of Sniper, now that we're done with the first part. From now on, this will be Canon, with divergence. This is the Year 198 of the Solar Calendar. Therefore, Shinra Kusakabe and Arthur Boyle have both graduated from the Academy and have been drafted to Company 8, Ogun Montgomery and Karin Sasaki went to Company 4.

Thank you for your reviews, kind words and adds. It means a lot and your reactions motivate me to write for more.

Alright. Let's get to it!

X: The Traitor Among Them

Tokyo Empire, Shinjuku, Year 198

It hurt. It hurt so damn much. Maybe even more than the first kick to her face that had sent her backward like a useless ragdoll after she'd mustered the guts to insult him. But Tamaki Kotatsu wasn't just talking about her physical bruises that kept adding up on her aching body, given by the foot that was relentlessly slamming down on her as if she was a nuisance. Her emotional and psychological wounds were far, far worse. And he just kept stomping and kicking her while she was down, trying her best to protect herself.

What was he shouting? More of his insane nonsense?

"I've put my faith in you, Tamaki!" Rekka yelled while kicking her. "I believe you can take the fall for me! I trusted you, I trusted you and no one else!"

Oh yeah, it hurt much more than Tamaki could have ever imagined. The pain was numbing her senses, but she was somehow still vaguely aware of what was happening and what she was thinking. The chances of her dying at her darling Rekka Hoshimiya were high, since the hot-blooded son of a bitch was one of the Lieutenant Priests and unbelievably stronger than she was, but the nun just couldn't help it—her thoughts just zeroed in on him while he was beating her to a pulp.

She'd cared so much for this bastard, had adored him because he was the main reason she'd wanted to join the elite Fire Force Company. Because Rekka Hoshimiya had that kind of aura that drew people in, like a scorching sun, and she'd been drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Tamaki's faith had never been so strong and solid before, as it had been reinforced by the idea of having the huge honor of working under the leadership of the legendary Fire Soldier Leonard Burns. It had been her dream, which had become reality, and this reality had turned into a horrific nightmare in which she couldn't wake up from.

Please, Tamaki pleaded pathetically in her mind, hot tears burning in her eyes and her sobs clogging her throat. Let me wake up... someone please stop him... Curled up on herself, she could do very little: she couldn't help the terrified kids she'd brought here to unknowingly meet their death (goddamn, the little girl had lost her mother partly due to her involvement!), she couldn't counter-attack and strike Rekka to throw him off balance, and she couldn't even shout for help. Surely the distress signal she'd made earlier before she was being stomped on must have gotten someone's attention—anyone, because the son of a bitch had to be stopped. At once!

All of a sudden, in the chaos that was almost deafening to her ears, she somehow managed to hear a sound different from the children's crying and Rekka's incessant shouting. A sound that definitely didn't belong in this fiery madness.

A whistling.

The next second, she felt like a rush of wind that ruffled her skirt, as if something had rushed past her at an insane speed. Tamaki jolted and twitched, gasping in pain as her nerves sang. There were one, two, three sickening thuds and crunches, rewarded with Rekka's grunts of pain and an unexpected, violent crash in the background. More grunts from the bastard, which sounded far away from her curled up form. It sounded like... the traitor had been kicked into a wall of bricks by whatever had rushed past her. What on earth?

When she finally mustered up the courage to peek over her arm with a terrified expression, the first thing Tamaki saw was a girl—no, a buxom woman standing back up from a handstand with such grace and agility that she couldn't help but admire it. What she saw next was endless, toned legs that she just deemed perfect (They were in her eyes, especially the left one with that gorgeous leg sleeve irezumi representing Japanese-styled waves), showed off by short-legged sleeves dark green overalls that clung lovingly to her buxom figure, showed off her back and dark blue high-heeled sandals. Allowing her gaze to trail higher, she saw a light grey crop top that showed off her shoulders and toned back. There were also big-sized kanji tattooed along her spine, starting from the nape of her neck. She could tell a toned and curvaceous body was hidden under these clothes, and then there was that massive afro of bi-coloured curls—Tamaki was sure and certain she'd seen that round and luscious white and blue afro somewhere, but couldn't remember for the life of her at this crucial moment.

All she knew was that she'd just been saved. Staring at the woman's back wide-eyed and flabbergasted, Tamaki dared to take a shaky breath. Then another. Then another. Her throat and eyes were starting to hurt and sting from the sobs and hot tears she was trying too hard to contain, not wanting to break down in front of her savior—who'd seemingly kicked Rekka away from her. It would be unbecoming and so humiliating.

"Sister, are you alright?" a male voice suddenly asked.

At first, Tamaki couldn't tell if the question was directed at her or someone else. When a hand pressed down on her shoulder and a second one to her back to help her sit up, she blinked twice and turned around to meet the gentle and concerned green eyes of an older young man, probably four to five years older than her. Most of his head was a shaved buzz cut while there were five long bangs that stood firm on the edge of his forehead like antennas. He was wearing a sleeveless black top with dark grey cargo pants and a jacket, combat boots and black fingerless gloves. Tamaki couldn't help but notice that he was very well-built and very good-looking, even though she was still very shaken up.

At her lack of answer, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Hey, did I ask her if she was alright or is my memory playing tricks on me again?" he wondered aloud.

"No, you did ask her," the woman answered, her tone calm and chilly. "She might be in shock, thus probably unable to speak and explain what's happening, but she won't have to: we've seen and heard enough and we now have the permission to beat the hot-blooded son of a bitch to a pulp. Fuyubi, what the hell are we looking at here? Is this... what we've talked about earlier? The real cause of these mass incidents of Infernalization in Shinjuku?"

What the...

"MEOOOOOOW!"

The sound was so sudden, loud and unexpected that Tamaki jolted and squeaked, almost jumping out of her battered skin. Next to her sat a white, orange and black Persian cat with rich, thick and luscious fur that made her want to thread her fingers through just to feel how soft it would be. Its eyes were a bright ruby red, almost unreal, and it was as if they could pierce right through her soul when they landed on her and just... stared. For a few seconds though, as they moved to the children hiding behind the pillars and peeking, to the remains of the mother who'd burned to death and had been killed and, finally, to the monster responsible for all these mass cases of Infernalization in Shinjuku for the past weeks.

"From what I've heard and watched from my hiding spot, it would seem that Fire Soldier Kotatsu Tamaki, from Company 1, has unknowingly helped Hoshimiya Rekka in his dark and twisted deeds by supplying him young children," the cat... said in a clear, robotic and childish voice, licking its paw.

Golden eyes widened even more, if that were possible, at hearing her favorite animal speaking like a human being. Did she... was that cat really...? As freaky and unnatural as it was, Tamaki couldn't suppress the cold feeling of guilt and responsibility that clogged her throat and stomach when she processed the words that had been said. A civilian was killed and a young boy was just..., the young nun recalled, anguish written on her face as she dropped her head in utter shame. This time, the tears fell. And they fell even more as Tamaki realized that her involvement in this horrific situation will most likely put her in a very bad spot with her captain.

Hell, she might have even ended her career as a nun and a Fire Soldier at Company 1. While she couldn't have known that the man she adored was a psychopathic murderer under that warm and passionate front, the fact remained that she still had a part to play in this bloody situation—the report, should she survive this confrontation along with the two strangers, would be her doom. The consequences would be disastrous and there was a high chance she'd kiss her days as a Fire Soldier goodbye.

"You... you messed up, murdering son of a bitch. All of these poor children... these children who had family and friends!" the man who had helped her sit up shouted angrily, his green eyes glittering like emeralds. "This was all Hoshimiya alone?!"

There was a beat of silence, only troubled by the children who were now whimpering right behind him as he traded looks with the talking cat.

"Hoshimiya Rekka truly is the one behind the mass combustion incidents of Infernalization that have been plaguing Shinjuku and throwing Company 1 off for months," the feline confirmed grimly. "Though... judging by what I've just seen here just a few minutes ago, we can no longer be talking about 'incidents', as one of the children here didn't die from the flames. What has been used to trigger the Infernalization was some kind of bug, which crawled its way inside the child's body. Just like you said, Niobe."

Two horrified, stunned gasps echoed. For a long moment, neither of them spoke as they tried to digest and process these disturbing news. Not only were they discovering that a Fire Soldier has been terrorizing all of Shinjuku, but said Fire Soldier belonged to Company 1—the Fire Force brigade that directly fell under the Holy Sol Temple's authority. The whole thing was so surreal and messed up that Tamaki herself still couldn't believe it was actually happening right in front of her eyes; the young kid burning after having been administered that strange bug, a blood-curdling scream ripping his throat open, flames in his eyes and ready to burn him from the inside out, Lieutenant Rekka watching the horror show raptly and encouraging Nataku Son to withstand the pain and win the fight against death... it had been such a bloody nightmarish vision that Tamaki was certain it would haunt her dreams for weeks.

The fact that the kid hadn't succombed to the flames like the mother was a real miracle. But his life had been changed forever, will never get back to normal. And if that talking 'cat'—Fuyubi?—had seen everything, then maybe... maybe something could be done. Absolutely anything. Sol, let my saviors be strong enough to defeat Lieutenant Rekka, Tamaki couldn't help but beg in her silent prayer.

"You've got to be bloody kidding...," the white-haired woman choked, aghast. "All these deaths... it was Rekka! He turned all these people into Infernals?! What—"

"My stars!" the hot-blooded shouted enthusiastically, a manic grin on his face despite the blood dripping from his mouth. He coughed a few times. "Long time no see, Niobe! How have you been? Haven't seen you around Shinjuku in two years and you've bloomed really well—you're even more gorgeous than last I recalled! That new irezumi on your leg suits you, makes me want to lick it! I can see why Karim chose to remain single after you two broke up!"

There was an angry hiss. "After what you've been doing these past few months, this is the first thing you're spouting? You disgust the hell outta me, Hoshimiya!" she spat in contempt, venom dripping from her voice. "Straying from the path of your beloved Sol by turning children into Infernals? What in the hell are you trying to do here?"

"My stars, you're more talkative than Arrow when you're angry! That's so hot! But don't you dare interfere with my work for the Evangelist or I'll regrettably have to kill you before I can even have a taste of that body!"

Another moment during which the older people of the scene looked stunned by these words, which blunt implication startled Tamaki so much that she shuddered violently in visible disgust and gawked, paling. How appalling to hear such lewd and salacious language from a man of the Church, someone she respected a lot! Disgraceful! The Rekka Hoshimiya she thought she knew was nothing more than a front, a disguise that fooled a lot of people—be it civilians, fellow Fire Soldiers and even friends.

"Hajiki, you might need to make sure that Niobe doesn't shoot an arrow through the Lieutenant's chest by 'accident'. He won't be of much use if he's dead," Fuyubi warned, turning his red eyes towards the man shielding Tamaki. The feline meowed loud in warning once again and hissed when the man took out a gun. "And keep your head as well! You can't kill Hoshimiya!"

Hajiki sneered hatefully, a murderous scowl etched on his usually friendly face.

"Trust me, little cat," he ground out, loading his gun. "I believe the one who will have a much harder time trying not to kill this insane bastard is Captain Shinmon."

It looked like Rekka wouldn't be outdone yet, though his grunts of pain testified that whatever this Niobe woman did to him hurt like all hell. Shivering, the young nun wrapped her arms around her sore body and made herself as small as possible, cowering behind her saviors. What could she do anyway? She might have her pyrokinesis but still was no match for the Lieutenant; the Holy Sol Temple trained its clerics to perform rituals and prayers, not to fight. Only the Lieutenants, Fire Soldiers and the captain of Company 1 were to use hand-to-hand combat when fighting Infernals. Suffice to say, Tamaki wouldn't be able to do much here. She could only hope that Niobe would be able to—

Wait. Did Lieutenant Rekka just call her Niobe?

Tamaki knew that name, she'd heard her superiors mention it one time when Lieutenant Rekka was harping on at Lieutenant Karim about a certain 'Niobe'. At first she hadn't even been that interested, assuming they were merely talking about a common friend they had, but when the Second Generation had snapped harshly at the passionate bastard before stalking off somewhere with an irritated expression, the young recruit had gotten quite curious. Was it her right here, taking a fighting stance to confront Rekka in her stead? Who was she to Lieutenant Karim?

"If what Fuyubi just revealed is true, then we'll have to take you down for interrogation," Chief Platoon Hajiki said coldly, standing up to his full height. "Although beating the crap out of you would make me feel a thousand times better, I'll have to make due with bringing you in, Lieutenant Hoshimiya. That works for you, Hawk-Eye?"

Inhaling sharply, Niobe moved her hands. Tamaki watched in muted fascination as bright, eerie green embers burst out from her long fingers, grew until they became a big bow made of fire that the woman easily maneuvered to aim at her target. She pointed with her right index and middle fingers, drew her left fingers back with an arrow of fire notched between the digits.

"Unfortunately," Niobe drawled harshly, her eyes murderous. "What a damn shame, Rekka... Huo Yan will be so horrified to find out that you've turned your back on your beloved Sol by killing children. Not to mention your captain. I hope you don't mind losing a few limbs, do you?"

Rekka only grinned widely, his starry eyes ogling her. The grin slowly grew lecherous.

"My stars," he purred malevolently. "How long have I desired to fuck that body?"

Tokyo Empire, Asakusa, a few hours ago...

"Curls said the guardhouse would be easy to find and she lied," Chief Platoon Hajiki grumbled as he turned right. "This place is a maze..."

That or he forgot all about the directions he'd been given by a restaurant owner just a minute ago—damn his memory! Asakusa wasn't like his Company's district, where he'd recognize everything because he took the same route nearly every day. Anyone who wasn't from the proto-nationalist town could get lost very easily, and since Hajiki had absurd forgetful moments that happened all the time, he got lost the minute he walked in. He didn't remember Asakusa being so... big. It was amazing he'd remembered to bring Niobe's birthday gift (after he forgot to give it to her on her birthday), though he was kind of sick of carrying that case.

So he had to find the guardhouse on his own. And quick, because Hajiki wanted to spend this whole day off with his best friend. She better be ready by the time I remember the directions to this damn guardhouse, he seethed as he walked around, his eyes trying to spot the royal blue noren that marked the entrance of the station. He hadn't come here early just to give up and stalk back to his Company, especially since he'd like to gossip with Niobe about the most interesting new rookie of the 2nd. He may be cowardly for the time being, but Juggernaut had some insane potential he needed to tap into so the Company could count on this young recruit.

Which was why he took Takeru under his wing, so he could learn not to fear his powers, no matter how destructive and powerful they could become. Once one pyrokinetic was in control of everything, he could do great. The harsh training lessons Hajiki followed alongside Niobe with her father had been the best he'd ever gotten, especially since the proto-nationalist surgeon had taught them so much. He'd taught him how to make the best use of his eyes, how to concentrate hard enough until he could see through walls and all around him, but the best lesson had been the Breath of Life.

Now these lessons were thoroughly drilled into his brain and reflexes—the Chief Platoon had no idea how Ashura managed to make sure his awful memory would never kick the teachings out of his brain, but his reflexes were always on point when training with his peers at Company 2. His prowess in hand-to-hand combat training really impressed his superiors and teammates, who'd asked him where he'd learnt this stuff. Though it wouldn't hurt to share with them, the young gunslinger had refrained from betraying Ashura's trust and as such, had remained loyal to the secretive proto-nationalist by keeping quiet.

Turning left, Hajiki continued until the next bifurcation. Then turned right. Then left. Then right again. This kept on and on for fifteen minutes until he couldn't take it anymore and had to ask a random civilian to lead him to the guardhouse. He followed behind the amused old woman with a very aggravated expression, already tired of wandering around like a heavily armed idiot.

"We haven't seen you in town in a while, young man," she said cheerily, a bundle of baked goods in her hands. "Seeing you hang around Niobe and Benimaru in Asakusa was refreshing, since he doesn't tolerate having Imperial Fire Soldiers on his turf."

"I'd like to believe I'm the only exception only because of my friendship with his girlfriend," Hajiki joked, though his expression didn't change one bit. "Sorry for not coming around more often, Infernals have been appearing right and left for no reason. I did miss your daifuku."

At the very least, he hadn't forgotten that she made excellent daifuku.

"You don't need to apologize for doing your job, it's your duty as a Fire Soldier," the old woman reassured him. "Our Hikeshi have been busy as well, so much that Benimaru and Niobe had very little time for themselves. We could all feel their frustration whenever they had to separate for the day."

I bet, Hajiki thought sympathetically. During those two years following Niobe's induction in Company 7, they'd tried to hang out as much as their schedule allowed and it hadn't been easy to coordinate (him being a very forgetful person had a major role in this situation, of course). Still, the Chief Platoon had made a point to show up on Niobe's birthdays and she'd done the same, sneaking onto the grounds of his Company so she could spend some time with him before heading back to Asakusa unnoticed—Captain Honda was very vocal about his dislike towards the proto-nationalists, but had always commended his best friend's skills and had even said that she'd be most welcome in the 2nd, should she be tired of her captain.

As if. If anything, Captain Shinmon and Niobe had become a very solid couple over the years and there was no way in hell he'd let her go. Not that she'd want to. Although he'd been used to Karim Flam because the Second Generation had been her man for four long years, Hajiki had to admit that the Destroyer of Asakusa and the sniper really looked good together—he still remembered when he, Niobe and Benimaru had hung around in a part of the guardhouse. It had been a nice afternoon with the three of them lounging and lazing around, and Captain Shinmon had literally and shamelessly used his best friend's chest as a pillow to nap on while he'd gossiped with her about Captain Honda's infamous baldness. Niobe had been affectionately carding her fingers through her boyfriend's hair, stroking his scalp while he was sound asleep, and Hajiki had noted the loving and tender expression and smile on her face while doing so. Benimaru's arms had been tightly and possessively wound around her body, only letting go when he'd woken up to get inside for dinner. Nah, ain't no way she's leaving the 7th and this man, he thought with an amused snort, smirking.

"Here we are," the old lady announced cheerfully. "The guardhouse wasn't so difficult to find, was it?"

Now he recognized the blue noren. Hajiki had to grind his teeth in bubbling irritation as he face-palmed at his own stupidity. Damn his awful memory! He'd been turning around the different blocks of Asakusa for at least thirty minutes and he was pretty sure that Niobe must have been coerced by Benimaru into a lovemaking to kill time. Damn their sex-drive!

"Yes, it was," Hajiki ground out as he sighed. He bowed to the lady with a forced smile. "Thank you for leading me, ma'am."

She offered him the big bundle of goods with a pleasant smile. "Do please give the daifuku to Niobe and the girls, they love them," she said.

"Will do," the Fire Soldier ensured, taking the bundle with him.

As soon as he entered the guardhouse, he was greeted by the identical (demonic) forms of chaos known as Hinata and Hikage whose smiles had Hajiki breaking into a sweat and freezing on his spot.

"Ah, Antenna Man is back!" the twins exclaimed happily as they both jumped on him.

"Whoa, easy there!" Hajiki complained as their tiny arms wrapped themselves around his waist. Balancing himself on his spot, he groaned in frustration with his head thrown back. "How does Niobe deal with you all? Between your stubborn captain and you two, she must be bed-ridden with headaches..."

"Well there, Antenna Man, we're not taking any complaints right now!" the girls chorused, giggling happily.

At the second mention of his unfortunate nickname, Hajiki's green eyes started rolling around in their sockets.

"'Antenna Man'? When did you start calling me like that?" he wondered aloud and seriously.

Hinata laughed out loud while Hikage made fun of his awful memory while insulting him—though he'd been reassured by his best friend not to take them seriously. Snorting, he got rid of his boots, put down the bundle of daifuku and Niobe's gift, then gently shook off the twins so they could grab one sweet each.

"Now that I've finally managed to find my way here, is Niobe ready? It's my first day off since weeks and although I do understand that Captain Shinmon has had it bad as well, I miss my best friend."

Hinata bounded around with a daifuku in hand, smiling widely. "Waka is holding her hostage in their room, said something about wanting 'private' time or whatever," she mused, shrugging.

"Yeah, more like he wants to hog her to himself all day and not do anything else," Hikage groused before biting into her sweet. "But last I saw them, they'd just bathed and were heading back to their room. Who knows if she's dressed? Waka won't probably let you take her out today."

"Huh-huh. That bad, yeah?" Hajiki muttered.

"How about you just go to their room and snatch Niobe from him?" Lieutenant Konro suggested as he appeared from the hallway. He smiled at the young Fire Soldier, looking a little aggravated. "Waka can't prevent Taka no Me from seeing her friends whenever she has time, even if he wants to hole up with her."

Hajiki huffed, relaxing from his salute. "Here's to hoping he won't start a fight with me for no reason..."

Shuffling his hands into the pockets of his cargo pants, he made three steps into the hallway before freezing on his spot. But Hajiki didn't turn around and kept his back to Lieutenant Konro, his face carefully blank. About five seconds later, the older Hikeshi passed by him with an amused smirk.

"Forgot the way to the room again?" he teased.

"Cha-ma-llow," Hajiki grumbled before following the chuckling lieutenant.

He didn't say anything else as the Hikeshi led him through yet another maze in the guardhouse, encountering some other Hikeshi who waved at him, until they stopped in front of shōji doors. Before the Fire Soldier could knock, Konro stopped him and motioned to keep quiet and listen. Curious, the gunslinger frowned up at his elder, but listened nonetheless.

"Just try to escape my hold during this one minute, Kitten," they could hear Benimaru say, who must be smirking right now. "If you succeed, I'll let you leave and spend time with Hajiki."

There was a deep sigh. "And if I don't manage this exploit?" Niobe asked.

"Why bother asking when you know I'll resume what we've started in the bath?"

"'Cause I just love hearing it from your mouth all the time."

Half-dirty pillow talk and it wasn't even eleven yet. Hajiki couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes in annoyance and Konro shook his head, obviously used to their antics—their sex-drive must be keeping them all on their toes, probably even more at night. Niobe's was already high back when she was with Karim because the punk loved sex and liked to experience with her, but Benimaru's seemed to be much, much worse. Therefore, they must be completely addicted to each other. Having had enough, Hajiki just slid the shōji open despite Konro's protests.

Just as he expected, Captain Shinmon had his best friend pinned to the tatami with both his body laid down on hers intimately and his hands were interlaced with hers. Situated between her long and bare legs, the Destroyer of Asakusa didn't even have the decensy to lift his head to greet them, for his mouth was busy with Niobe's. The two were engaged in their tender, yet passionate kiss and didn't seem to have noticed their audience. The man was shirtless while she still had her clothes on—as far as Hajiki could tell, at the very least. And they had yet to acknowledge their presence in the intimacy of their bedroom.

That is, until Niobe's powerful legs suddenly snapped around Benimaru's waist like a vice and she suddenly interverted their positions to get on top of her boyfriend. But since he wasn't one to give up on being the dominant one, he easily flipped them over with a click of his tongue and pinned her back down. She growled in annoyance while he smirked down at her wolfishly, his mismatched eyes crinkling with mirth.

"Hey, Gunslinger," Niobe grumbled, tightening her legs around Benimaru's waist.

Hajiki crossed his muscled arms against his chest, a brow raised as he looked down at them.

"Ready to bounce, Curls?" he asked. "We've got a long day ahead of us."

Benimaru finally moved his head up with a possessive and annoyed growl, his harsh glare intensifying and zeroing in on the gunslinger as if he wanted to light him on fire. Hajiki suppressed a chill down his spine, a sweatdrop on the side of his head. Talk about mood swings, he thought with a small grimace.

"They had this day off planned out long before you, Waka," Konro interrupted with a huff. "I know you and Taka no Me have been stressed out lately with our duties, but you still need to let her have some space. You also need yours. She'll be back tonight."

Niobe smiled sweetly. "Hey... hey, Tiger, look at me," she coaxed tenderly, making Benimaru gaze down at her with a scowl. The sniper lifted her head to steal him a deep, strong kiss that made him groan in pleasure and made Hajiki look elsewhere. When they separated, she grinned while he pushed his forehead against hers tenderly. "Our own day off starts tonight. I know how long you've been looking forward to this, as much as I have, but I missed my best friend almost as much as I missed you, Beni."

"When will you be coming back home?" Benimaru asked on her lips, stroking her left cheek tenderly.

"Ask the teddy bear," she simply answered with one last tender kiss before rolling them over.

A smooth hissing sound caught Hajiki's attention as the man turned his head just in time to see Atlas rise from his charging station and turn his head their way.

"Captain Shinmon, Niobe has hooked Fuyubi's system to mine so I can inform you when she'll be coming back," the teddy bear announced as he stepped out of his charging station. "Should there be a problem, Fuyubi will notify me immediately."

The corner of Benimaru's lips lifted in a half-smile. "Nice," he said.

Hajiki blinked owlishly at the teddy bear. "I'm sorry, but who is—"

He interrupted himself, his instincts kicking in, and he turned as fast as he could to find himself looking down at the red eyes of a cat. A beautiful cat with rich, thick orange, white and black fur that sat next to him. If his best friend wasn't a Robotics genius, the gunslinger would have taken the feline for a real one, and he certainly would have freaked out when it spoke (without its mouth moving).

"I'm Fuyubi, your Sentient Feline Artificial Intelligence companion," 'Fuyubi' said, blinking its eyes. "Nice to finally meet you, Chief Platoon Hajiki. Niobe wouldn't shut up about you while she was setting up my system."

"Watch your tongue, pussycat!" Niobe hissed, shuffling in her drawer for shoes. "I can reprogram you and reupload your system onto my computer, should you misbehave!"

Fuyubi snorted, licking its paw innocently. "Who's misbehaving? I'm simply trying to get to know your best friend, whom you've talked about fondly. I was getting tired of only hearing about Captain Shinmon, who would rather—"

Niobe's backpack landed hard on its head, making the cat meow loudly in complaint. Benimaru clicked his tongue, annoyed and frowning.

"Not taking any complaints from you, damn pussycat," he growled, while Niobe laughed.

Tokyo Empire, Ameyoko

"How come escaping your boyfriend is even harder than guessing if Captain Honda's baldness began before or after he got his pyrokinesis?" Hajiki complained sourly as they walked leisurely through the district, his hands chuffed in the pockets of his cargo pants. "It's not like I was kidnapping you!"

Niobe sent her best friend an amused gaze, a brow raised. "Maybe because we haven't had a day for ourselves in weeks and we missed each other like crazy?" she suggested playfully. "Beni hates being interrupted when we're alone and spending time together. Hadn't you made plans with me beforehand, I would have stayed with him and you'd have found us going at it."

Wow, he absolutely didn't need to have her being this blunt so he could picture the two having—what the hell? Hajiki threw Niobe a disgusted look, who burst into a fit of chuckles and evaded his punch with a graceful jump out of his reach.

"Thanks a bunch!" he growled. "Now I'm never gonna forget that image, even if I try reading porn magazines and look at the pictures!"

"You mean to tell me that it could have been worse than you walking in on Karim and I?" Niobe laughed, crossing her arms under her cleavage. "Probably. The difference is that Beni would have tried—and succeeded—to skin you alive for breaking into our room uninvited, should we be sleeping or doing something more adult."

"And just when did this particular incident happen, Curls?" He narrowed his green eyes at her. "When did I walk in on you and Karim?"

"Well, let's see," Niobe mused sarcastically as she tied her curls into her signature bun. "Three years ago, my best friend sneaked out of his Company's grounds at about eleven in the evening, went to my old apartment, walked in on my ex and I making love into the living-room and he doesn't even remember, which takes the cake. Oh, and let's not forget your reason for sneaking out that had Karim glaring at you for weeks: a girl from another squad has been trying to get you into her panties and she happened to have invited you to her bed. What did you do?"

Hajiki gaped, disbelieving. Had that shit really happened? Was that why Fumiko would sometimes steal some glances at him and blush like a virgin, even though he thought that her shyness was merely a front—everyone knew the quiet girls were most of the time the freaks. Niobe sent him a very annoyed glare.

"You left her hanging and waiting for a reply to her advances, because you happened to have miraculously forgotten your promise to give her an answer, and you came to bother Karim and I that one night. Somehow, you managed to remember that you needed advices." She clicked her tongue. "Ya really, really needed ta get laid that much, huh?"

Why, I oughta... Hajiki leaped to trap Niobe into a headlock in the middle of the path, using his superior strength while she was both chuckling and trying to get out of his hold at the same time. They struggled in their position for a little while, getting amused looks from civilians as they watched the two Fire Soldiers. Though Hajiki looked like he wanted to throttle her, the goofy grin on his face and the gleam in his green eyes told otherwise—he was having as much fun as Niobe was, they'd missed each other.

Releasing her head, the gunslinger draped an arm on her shoulder to hug her and she wrapped hers around his waist.

"Let's start the day, shall we?" she exclaimed, a wide smile on her face.

"Let's go then, I'm hungry as hell!" Hajiki exclaimed back before dragging her towards a restaurant to have some late breakfast. "And I have so much to gossip with you, so let's do that while we're eating."

They didn't have to wait that long to get a table. Once they were seated, Hajiki launched into his tale and Niobe listened intently, her mismatched eyes gleaming. He told her about the new recruit that joined his Company, Takeru Noto, and the destructive power he possessed; the man was a damn nuke and would be immensely powerful on the field, if he wasn't so scared of his own flames. Though he could have done some damage during the Rookie Fire Soldier Games and blasted his way through, Takeru had refrained from doing so, all this because he couldn't control his fire. So the Chief Platoon took the powerhouse under his wing to train him, make him gain in confidence.

He kept quiet on the mysterious incident that happened inside the building the rookies went in, because it was just so weird (and he forgot all about it too!).

"Isn't there the Rookie Training Reassignment System for the newbies to undergo at the First?" Niobe asked curiously, crossing her arms under her heavy cleavage. She grinned at her best friend. "Knowing who your captain is, I'm sure he sent this poor Noto there with the zealots so he could make the 2nd proud. Military people and their need to be constantly revered..."

Hajiki nodded with a broad grin. "Yeah, Captain Honda was never one to miss an opportunity to compete with the other Companies," he snickered. "I hope Juggernaut is doing well over there, he could learn a lot with the Lieutenants and Captain Burns."

"Juggernaut? Is that his nickname?" Niobe wondered, blinking in confusion as she took her cup of tea.

"Believe it or not, he wasn't born in the Tokyo Empire but came from the Chinese Peninsula. Yeah, I was surprised too," Hajiki added with a nod at his best friend's surprised expression. "Though it's a complete wasteland, his family owns a farm and manages to grow potatoes there."

Niobe hummed, curiosity shining in her mismatched eyes. "I've never been outside of the Empire, wonder what the Chinese Peninsula looks like and if it's as desolate as everyone thinks. It must be weird for Juggernaut to switch environments and start living in a city. About as life-changing as a proto-nationalist starting to believe in a stupid deity like the Holy Sol."

"I bet," Hajiki agreed, tucking his chin on his fist. He closed his eyes and frowned, as if trying to remember something. "I think he also explained the characteristics of the potatoes, but I forgot all about it."

"Of course you did, cha-ma-llow!"

He flicked her forehead in retaliation, which Niobe complained about with a scowl and he merely smirked at the pouting white-haired woman.

"Juggernaut also went there with three other recruits... one from the Fifth, whom I can't remember his name for the life of me, and two from the newly formed Eigth." He frowned, racking his brain for one name. "I think one had a peaceful childhood that ended in tragedy... word is that he burned his family to death when he was just a kid."

That got Niobe's attention and she immediately stopped scowling as her eyes focused on him, full of wonder.

"Do you mean Kusakabe Shinra?" she asked.

Hajiki shrugged with a confused expression. "Am I supposed to know the guy, Curls?" he retorted, sarcasm rolling off his tongue.

She rolled her mismatched eyes with an amused snort. "No, but I do: Shinra was one of my students two years back, when I accepted a teaching position at the Training Academy. The brat wasn't that bad at all, but isolated by all his classmates because of what happened in his childhood."

Her gaze grew dark, which made Hajiki sober up instantly. Niobe sighed in frustration.

"In other words, this was bullying: someone spread the nasty rumor that Shinra was responsible for his mother and baby brother's death twelve years ago and the other students, being the sheeps I knew they all were, believed this rumor to be the truth and shunned him." She scowled again, shaking her head. "Haji, there was absolutely no way to confirm that Shinra killed his family that night, yet all these idiots just... tch!"

"Why was he blamed in the first place?" Hajiki asked, raising a disbelieving brow.

"Back when the fire happened, not only did he lose his family but his Third Gen powers also awoke at the same time. Ever since then, people have been calling him a devil for no reason, have been fearing him and hating him. What a joyous bunch these students were when they weren't heckling Shinra."

Goddamn. Hajiki grimaced and passed a hand on his face, not believing what he'd just heard. Talk about having the worst timing ever, he thought sympathetically. Some kind of shit such as this would change your whole perspective and this must have been the case with Niobe's former student. He couldn't even begin to imagine the pain this Shinra kid must be going through, and the insults thrown at his face must be worse. Had it been him, Hajiki would have long lost it and shot anyone insulting of being a murderer.

Though he didn't know if Kusakabe's word had to be the truth, the Chief Platoon would remain neutral about this particular matter. He could be sympathetic with the kid's pain, but that's about it—nothing more.

Huffing, Niobe shook her head once more and leaned back in her chair. "Well, this was an... interesting experience," she mused. "The kids passed, though Boyle Arthur was a lost cause. The pay was great, which paid for this beauty." she indicated her left leg, heavily tattooed. Then she smiled. "So Shinra and Arthur are at the 8th, huh? Interesting."

Hajiki gave her a half-smile. "That Company is brand new to the Force and I gotta say, they might be a bit... overwhelmed: most of my colleagues back at the 2nd think they're a joke because their staff is ridiculously low. No engineer, no scientific team, no doctor and yet they're allowed to be sent on dispatches." He hummed, his chin tucked in his fist. "I don't want to join my peers in saying that the 8th is the cesspool of the Fire Force, but they might be in over their heads with so few members at the moment."

"Ah, don't be so judgemental," Niobe chuckled. "While it's true that Shinra and Arthur are still rookies with poor combat training, they've still got room to grow. So does Juggernaut. Besides, I've actually got a friend who's resigned from the Armed Forces and joined the 8th at her former superior's request." She smiled broadly. "She's a beast and a really good fighter. Maki must be giving them hell during training."

Hajiki perked up, whistling. "The Oze girl? Yeah, I heard she'd left the military against her father's wishes. Bold move to go against General Oze, but if that's what she wanted, then all the best for her." He grinned maliciously at Niobe. "Does she still somehow hear people calling her a gorilla cyclops when it's not the case?"

"Somehow, Maki still does and I don't get it!"

At the same time, at Company 8 Cathedral, on the rooftop...

While she was working on the computer, Maki felt a blood vessel pop out on her temple and she suddenly felt quite... livid. Her expression turned thunderous, her hands nearly broke the keyboard when she balled them into fists. A feral growl escaped her throat, getting Lieutenant Hinawa's attention.

"Has your fairy tale turned into a nightmare and finally snapped you back to reality?" he asked bluntly.

Maki scowled even more. "No," she growled menacingly, looking towards the window. "I feel like someone is talking bad about me..."

Tokyo Empire, Ameyoko

There was a pensive hum from Niobe's backpack. "Amazing... absolutely amazing," Fuyubi yawned, poking his head out. His eyes then took in his surroundings with a bored look (if it was possible from a feline). "Hm... restaurants of the Tokyo Empire are quite different from the ones I'm used to back home in Asakusa. They're weirder."

Niobe huffed, reaching down to pet the AI. "Welcome to the Tokyo Empire, Fuyubi," she drawled. "Such a letdown compared to Asakusa. At least Dad's home is traditional and will forever be."

"You'll have to bring me there one day. Promise me, Niobe."

"Behave, then."

My best friend is bickering with an AI that she's created to look like a cat, Hajiki thought with a sweatdrop beside his head. Knowing Niobe, Fuyubi couldn't be the only one—she must have created at least two others to keep watch over Asakusa. If Captain Shinmon trusted his subordinate and girlfriend that much to allow her to use technology in their traditional town, then this meant a lot. Not only did they fully accept her, but they also approved of her inventions that were built to protect the people of Asakusa. Hajiki was aware that it meant the world to her, judging by the eager smile she'd worn while nerding on her virtual computer (that she'd bought with the income she'd earned through fighting at the Underground, since she'd refused to hand it over with a very vocal complaint to everyone).

The Chief Platoon grinned, which she noticed.

"What are you grinning at, Gunslinger?" she asked when their dishes arrived.

"Nothing," he replied, taking his chopsticks.

By the way, have her breasts grown bigger or is it my imagination? Hajiki casually thought as they strolled through Ameyoko, side by side and checking the bookshops for some comics. Because they bounce even more teasingly than two years ago, easily matching Princess Hibana's from the Fifth. Her growth spurt hadn't stopped, then... a late bloomer?

Since he knew better than ask Niobe, he kept quiet. But—

"Did you grow again?" he suddenly blurted out.

She blinked up at him. "Hm? As in, have I grown taller?" she asked with a smile.

"Well, your heeled sandals make you think you've grown taller but that's not the case. Half an inch or so. I'm talking about your breasts: your chest seems bigger. Did you have a growth spurt?" he wondered with a brow raised. He used the chopstick he left with to poke at Niobe's right breast. "Soft and squishy while being huge... you're as busty and tall as Captain Princess Hibana of the Fifth, now."

She gaped at him, shocked as all hell. The face she was making was absolutely hysterical—Niobe was doing a perfect replica of a pufferfish, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open.

"That Haijima hyena plus floozy?!"

Ah. Maybe he should have kept quiet. The look of murder on her face was enough to send him running and her giving chase—in heels.

"So," Hajiki huffed as he and Niobe entered a comic store after a chase of fifteen minutes. "Since Captain Shinmon isn't interested in getting along with the other Companies, I suppose you do the update by hacking into their security systems to collect your intel?"

Niobe chuckled as she scanned the shelves. "Of course," she answered bluntly and truthfully. "As long as I make sure they don't manage to trace my signal back to Asakusa, I can get whatever I want on all of you and there's nothing you can do about it. Beni may not give a damn about the Imperial Companies, but if they try something funny on the low, he should be the first one to hear about it. The 1st is unsurprisingly out of my reach because they're not that fond of technology and their security system is nonexistent, so I don't think we'll be having some trouble with them. As for the 8th, I'll have to sneak into their cathedral." She smiled toothily as she picked three comics. "So I'm his watch dog and a possible domestic terrorist. What's new?"

Niobe and her damn hacking tendencies. As much she claimed to 'try and stop' this disease, she just wouldn't—Hajiki knew her too well and what he was talking about: he'd actually watched her hack into the security system of a video game corporation just to get intel on a video game they'd been looking forward to. And because she wasn't a bitch (only when she needed to be), she hadn't leaked the news online.

Catching his best friend by the nape of her neck, Hajiki leaned in to her ear with a very serious expression. "You better not have hacked into Haijima, Niobe," he hissed, scowling. "You know what they are behind the masks and facades, your father taught us this. Stay the hell away from their radar and they won't take an interest in you."

It was bad enough that the shady captain of the 3rd was still so hell bent on recruiting Vulcan, he didn't need Niobe to put herself more out there when she already had the 7th as her family and Company for life. Due to his past connection with the Joseph family, Dr. Giovanni's morbid interest in Vulcan worried Ashura, his best friend and himself; the fact that he never seemed to take no for an answer was mad annoying, but what really was suspicious was how pushing the Haijima lackey was with his offers. Can we even still talk about offers when we can smell his need to get his hands on something? Hajiki thought with a slight sneer. Giovanni wasn't even trying to be sneaky about his thirst for Vulcan's skills, being more insistant than the other Fire Force Companies.

Or maybe... there was another reason for the man to be so forward and pushy. Whatever it was, the Chief Platoon was glad that the young Joseph steered clear from Haijima's grubby hands. For as long as he could, so he could find a way to make his dream come true.

Feeling a warm and smaller hand on the hand on her neck, Hajiki refocused on Niobe, whose eyes were closed in a solemn, yet serious expression.

"Yeah. I understand, Haji," she told him, squeezing his hand. "The 7th will never allow Haijima or the other Companies to get to me. Beni would go on a rampage, should this ever happen, and I'm not sure they'd want to anger the strongest Fire Soldier of the Force."

"That would give the Emperor a nasty headache for weeks, which could be entertaining," Hajiki drawled, letting go of her neck and scanning some of the new comics. "Let's grab what we're looking for and let's bounce. I need to talk to you about something that's been bothering me for quite some time."

He felt Niobe's curious eyes on him. "What is it?" she inquired.

"There's some weird shit brewing in Shinjuku. To be honest, I don't even know what's going on but it's serious."

His best friend looked very confused as she studied his features, and Hajiki couldn't blame her. Even he was still quite disturbed and distraught about what he's heard; some of his peers had been discussing reports of mass incidents of Infernalization in Shinjuku ward, saying that the frequency had somehow tripled and too many people had died from the flames. What actually horrified Hajiki was that the victims were children. The last case had been two months ago in Shinjuku, where a large group of kids had turned Infernal so suddenly and without any reason—it had sounded so unnatural and disturbing that he'd felt sick.

When he'd asked if these rumors had any amount of truth, Hajiki had literally thrown up his lunch in the restrooms upon the confirmation. The sickening feeling hadn't left him and he could still feel his stomach twisting uneasily at the thought of these poor kids dying, even right now. Why would Fire Soldiers joke about kids going up in flames during such horrendous times? It couldn't have been a lie; what the hell was the 1st doing about this? Such cases couldn't be natural, the phenomenon in itself was too suspicious. And those families in mourning, grieving because the young kids had had their future stolen from them as such tender age.

Despite his forgetful moments, the Chief Platoon just couldn't forget about such horrible events.

If anything, the Fire Force couldn't overlook this. This was too much. And though Hajiki had almost wanted to call Karim and ask him what the hell was going on in Shinjuku, but the Lieutenant would have coldly told him to stay out of this matter, that this was Company 1's one jurisdiction and they'd see to it. He needed Niobe's insight on this one.

Once she paid for her comics, the sniper followed him out of the store and back to his bike.

Tokyo Empire, Shinjuku

Hajiki parked his bike, killed the engine and took off his helmet to survey the area. According to the intel he got from the colleague he'd talked to, this was where the entire group of kids had turned Infernal. The thought of those poor children bursting into human torches was enough to make him snarl in anguish and close his eyes in shame. Again, how could something so horrible happen this often in Shinjuku? It was becoming some kind of pandemic affecting the Empire. How the hell could Captain Burns let this happen in his district? Some elite they are, Hajiki thought with a sneer.

Niobe's hand found his shoulder and squeezed it lightly. "Is this where...?" she inquired softly, her voice muffled by her helmet.

Unable to answer vocally, he nodded slowly. She hissed, getting off his bike, and took her helmet off.

"I can't even begin to imagine the families' grief," Niobe murmured, her voice subdued. "Or... maybe I can."

Though it would be logical for him to forget such memories, Hajiki instantly knew what his best friend was talking about—after all, he'd been there. He'd accompanied her to visit the families of the victims of Infernalization she had to put to rest at TEIT and had had to restrain Niobe when one relative had narrowly avoided being paralysed from the waist-down after trying to punch her.

Of course she'd know and understand what families would go through. Getting off his bike as well, Hajiki drew Niobe in a one-armed hug that she returned earnestly, her expression one of deep sadness. She buried her face in his shoulder, but too late: he'd seen the guilt. His face fell, full of concern.

"It doesn't get easier and forgetting isn't an option," Hajiki whispered in her ear. "Again, I'm sorry you had to go through this as a civilian and not as a Fire Soldier. You... something like this should have been handled by the Fire Force, not you."

All Niobe did was exhale while Fuyubi popped his head out from her backpack, scanning the street with his eyes.

"Should there be any residual ashes from the victims in this area, would you like me to analyze it, Niobe? Hajiki?" Fuyubi asked. "Assuming we'll find something substantial to explain the death of these children, of course. If not, then why come to Shinjuku and not leave this to Company 1?"

Hajiki gave the cat a grateful nod. "Yes, please," he said, feeling Niobe lift her head off and stand next to him. "The reason I've brought us here is because I wanted to investigate the crime scene, see what the guys at the 1st could have missed."

"If they missed anything," Niobe corrected, glancing at him with narrowed eyes. "Are you sure it's okay for us to snoop around Shinjuku? This is their turf and I don't think Burns Leonard will tolerate Fire Soldiers from other Companies disrupting things in his jurisdiction while they should be on their day off."

Indeed. But—

"C'mon, we're close," Hajiki said as he dragged Niobe with him by her arm.

"Seriously, Haji...," she groaned in annoyance. "This is the Empire's problem and as long as it doesn't happen to anyone in Asakusa, I shouldn't get involved."

Oh, he knew he shouldn't get Niobe roped into this mess instead of leaving it to Company 1. And if Captain Shinmon ever heard that he got his beloved girlfriend involved in some Imperial Fire Force bullshit on their day off, he'd thrash his ass. Niobe would probably try to stop him in his rampage, but Hajiki doubted he'd get off the hook that easily. If whatever was troubling him wasn't a threat to his hometown, his people, his woman and his family, Benimaru would tell the Chief Platoon to fuck off and ban him from snatching Niobe from him on days off for at least three months. And that was a legit threat.

When they reached the scene of the crime, they were greeted with a very saddening and heart-breaking sight: the large plaza had been reorganized to have a small shrine, where many frames and flowers had been left there. Hajiki swallowed with difficulty as he noticed the most heart-breaking element that had Niobe inhaling sharply. The pictures of many, many children, probably not older than ten, made the Chief Platoon close his eyes, kneel on the ground and bow his head in a silent prayer—not the one the Holy Sol Temple had drilled into their clerics with their teachings, one that he must have picked up at Ashura's home and he somehow remembered because it was more meaningful.

Next to him, Niobe also lowered herself on one knee, held her right hand up as if she was going to clap, bowed her head and closed her eyes in solemn silence. Together, they hoped the children were happier and safe... wherever they could be.

Whether there was an Heaven or even Hell in this godforsaken world, they could only hope this afterlife would be better than the cruel fate they'd endured. They shouldn't have died this young and had so much to offer. An entire future having gone up in flames and smoke in the most hellish way, without anyone being able to do much. Sometimes, the Fire Force could be so useless and the families of the victims must have probably thought so as well when they built this shrine. Who the hell could blame them?

Standing back up, Hajiki opened his eyes with an unusual empty expression. Showing guilt and regret now would be useless, but not paying his respects to the dead would be just plain disrespectful. I hope that Company 1 did the same after discovering your ashes, kids, the Chief Platoon thought as Niobe gracefully got back up next to him with a deep sigh.

"All these children at once, you said?" she murmured to his ears, smoothing a long white curl with her fingers.

Hajiki responded with a growl, feeling light-headed. Niobe cursed, releasing her lock.

"Listen, Hawk-Eye...," Hajiki started. "You're committed only to Benimaru, Company 7 and Asakusa, I'm aware of that fact. I know that. You wouldn't do anything for the other Imperial Companies. That's a lot I'm asking you to do here, but..."

"Okay. Only because it's you, Haji." She took off her backpack, only to let Fuyubi out. "If we can find some residual left on this plaza, then maybe Fuyubi can analyze it and we can try an AR Reconstruction to see and understand what seriously happened to these poor kids before they turned Infernal." She looked around with a frown, then clicked her tongue. "Of course, no cameras in sight. Figures... that would have made things much easier since I can hack into them. Maybe we could have..."

She stopped herself, shaking her head with her eyes closed. Fuyubi sat in front of the shrine, studying silently it with his red eyes.

"Maybe we could have seen with more detail how this horror could have happened to so many children at once," the sentient feline AI finished for his creator. "Images are ten thousand times better than an AR Reconstruction."

"For sure," the sniper agreed.

Feeling incredibly grateful towards his best friend, Hajiki wrapped an arm round her neck to pull her flush to him for an earnest hug. Humming, Niobe allowed him to do so with a thoughtful expression, her arm finding his waist automatically. As always, she couldn't refuse him such favor because she knew her best friend like the back of her hand.

"Thank you, Niobe," Hajiki murmured in her ear earnestly.

"Again, only because it's you, Haji." She gazed at the ground, taking her phone out. "Alright, can you please use your eyes to look for any residual? Your Ignition Ability will be our friend today."

The Chief Platoon grinned at her. "Aye, aye, Hawk-Eye!"

His green eyes glowed bright, allowing his vision to suddenly change; people turned into thermal heat signals of the same colour (meaning, they weren't Infernals), the Shinjuku landscape changed and the walls themselves couldn't hide all the other people the others couldn't see. Untangling himself from Niobe, Hajiki began inspecting the ground, going over the sidewalk first and retracing his steps back to the shrine.

As he was about to crouch and inspect something interesting, Niobe suddenly perked up and turned north. Fuyubi stood up straight as well, his ears flicking. And since such demeanor wasn't so uncommon between them, the gunslinger quickly understood that their little investigation was going to be halted. Regrettably so—her hearing as a sniper had to have improved again under Benimaru's training.

"What is it?" he demanded, standing up with his arms crossed. "What do you hear?"

Niobe tilted her head a little. "Vehicles. Many. Probably a dozen of them." She frowned, listening for a few seconds, then she turned back towards him with a grim expression before cupping her right ear. "The Special Fire Force is coming. And I can hear panicked screams south from our position, meaning there's another breakout of Infernals."

Hajiki gritted his teeth, his hands balled into fists. "Now of all time?" he growled.

His best friend sent him an apologetic look before crouching to catch Fuyubi, allowing the furry AI to nestle back into her backpack. Damn it, we have to abide by the rules and evacuate, even if Niobe and I are Fire Soldiers, Hajiki thought as his eyes stopped glowing. Soon enough, he could hear the vehicles coming their way with their sirens; they appeared ten seconds later, a dozen of Matchboxes surging out of the road, one after another. Casting an infuriated glance at one of the trucks that passed by them, Hajiki made eye contact with a very familiar punk Lieutenant Priest wearing headphones by mere coincidence. The Matchbox drove past the two Fire Soldiers quickly, but the young man was sure and certain that the high-ranked officer had seen him. And Niobe as well.

"...That was Karim, wasn't it?" Hajiki asked no one in particular, his eyes following the last Matchboxes.

The white-haired beauty nodded absent-mindedly. "Huh-huh," she confirmed before turning in his direction. She stretched a little, bending her arms in weird angles. "So what's the plan now, chief?"

"Fancy a little talk with your ex-boyfriend about what's going on in Shinjuku?" Hajiki mused.

The unamused glare Niobe sent him was cold.

"Your idea, you go speak to him since you're the one who wanted to go on this hunt for information and clues on our day off," Niobe stated firmly, pointing a finger at him. "So up and at 'em, Emerald!"

Or not. Maybe he really shouldn't have suggested that to his best friend—who must have not spoken to her ex-boyfriend in two years because she'd moved on and was all over the moon with her current man. And this man revealed himself to be more possessive and jealous than she ever was with Karim.

Hajiki scowled at Niobe. "Right now is a bad timing, they're on a dispatch," he reasoned with his best friend wisely.

"Who said anything about talking to him while he's on the clock and purifying Infernals?" Niobe countered with a smirk. "I say let's ambush him back at Company 1 and make him talk."

"You make it sound like we're about to interrogate him for a crime he's never committed, Niobe."

A shrug from the white-haired sniper. "He wouldn't be the type to do something that would go against his duty. I know Karim, surely he must have found the clues we're probably looking for; his sense of justice will make him move mountains to reinstate peace in the district he vowed to protect when he took the position of Lieutenant Priest." Her eyes crinkled as her smirk softened to a small smile.

"And if you're wrong?"

"Then remember the rules when the Frost King and I were dating: when it comes to this punk, I'm never wrong."

A beat from Hajiki, who stared at Niobe with a blank look.

"... Idiot."

"Look who's talking. C'mon, let's drive to Company 1 before they do so we can catch him to a corner of this outrageously extravagant building and get him to confide in us."

"But better grab three crepes before heading there, I feel like I'm gonna need the sugar rush to withstand whatever he's gonna tell us."

"Where do you stuff that much food anyway? Has your appetite grown these past two years?"

"Yes. I do need the energy. You have no idea how intense and hard-working Beni is when it comes to training, so the nutrients are more than necessary."

A beat as they arrived to the crepe stand.

"Well, that and our sex-drive has also grown wild."

"Truly amazing..."

Why the hell did he even ask?

Tokyo Empire, Shinjuku, Company 1

Karim held back an annoyed groan as he slammed the door to the Matchbox, his expression dark. Another quite important outbreak of Infernals that had him wondering what the hell was happening, to which he had no answer for. Wait, he kinda did—one of his colleagues had been behaving too weirdly to not be considered weird behavior. It was so weird... and disturbing, to say the least. And just when he thought that Company 1 was going to be the subject of many problems and controversy, Company 8 just had to send two of their new recruits to snoop around (that Kusakabe kid and that stupid Boyle were too obvious). Troublesome rookies who didn't know what they were doing were too troublesome and trouble.

But it was the sight of Hajiki and Niobe that got Karim's curiosity. What were they doing here in Shinjuku? The Fire Soldier knew these two well enough to be aware that it couldn't be a coincidence—not with the two best friends. Though he hadn't really seen the soldier from Company 2 around, he'd never expected to see his ex-girlfriend in his turf again—the only times she'd come in this district nowadays would be to visit her father or her friends from TEIT, eat some crepes to feed her sweet tooth (that said, he hadn't seen her around at all to confirm his theory...). She'd changed. Physically. That leg sleeve tattoo suits her well, Karim thought as he remembered the magnificent tattoo on her perfect leg. Did she also grow up a little bit? Her afro of white curls seemed to have grown as well, making the bun of curls on top of her head so deliciously puffy.

And that bust... now she definitely matched Captain Princess Hibana of the 5th with her body. No wonder the men of his unit were now buzzing with excitement after two of them had noticed Niobe when they passed them by earlier; the wild gossip of comparing Princess Hibana and his ex-girlfriend was now going to be the main topic between the male Soldiers of his Company for a while. Unless Karim put a stop to that nonsense. The sniper may not be his anymore, but the man she was in a relationship with didn't fuck around. The rumors he'd heard about Benimaru Shinmon were enough to make him believe that no one would mess with Asakusa and live to tell the tale, so talking about Niobe and drooling over her curves? That was suicide.

Nevertheless, Karim settled in a hallway inside the building and waited quite impatiently for Hajiki and Niobe to show up. Since Noto had come up with some bullshit story just to unknowingly help the two spies from the 8th, he figured he might as well talk to his ex and the gunslinger and hear what they had to say. Their presence in Shinjuku couldn't be a mere coincidence—Karim refused to believe it.

"This way... no, this way, idiot gunslinger!" a familiar voice groaned in annoyance as footsteps echoed in the hallway Karim was in. "I knew you forgot how to navigate in this building. How the hell did you even manage when you took part in the Rookie Training Reassignment System as a newbie?"

There was another familiar voice. "I had help! And besides, why couldn't you do it when you and Karim were dating?"

"Because I had class when you were making your bald-headed Company captain proud and I couldn't multi-task even if I could?"

"Excuses, excuses. You couldn't hack my phone in secret and call to navigate me around?"

"Ha! Don't be jealous because my memory is ten thousand times better than yours, cha-ma-llow."

Sol, he hadn't heard that catchphrase in years. That banter between these two managed to make Karim crack an amused grin and shake his head fondly, even now. Niobe and Hajiki's friendship ran deep and was so strong that he doubted some rift could break their bond (their bond had him suspicious a few times during the early stages of his relationship with the sniper, but he had gotten past his jealousy). He turned just as his ex and Hajiki appeared on the corner, with Niobe dragging the ever forgetful gunslinger by the arm. The three of them froze upon noticing each other, blinking twice.

Damn. Up close, Karim could definitely claim these two years have blessed Niobe with a growth spurt he'd have greatly appreciated (if they were still together). Him having been obsessed with her boobs, he'd have had a field day with those delicious puppies snuggled lovingly in her crop top and dark green overalls—the perks of being a boob man that only a boob man can understand, he thought as he forced himself to look away from his ex-girlfriend's figure and gazed at Hajiki, who gently shrugged off Niobe's hand.

"I'm pretty sure you didn't find your way in here to pray at the Cathedral," Karim guessed as he stepped away from the pillar he was leaning against. "Given how forgetful you are, you must have forgotten the words of the prayer."

Niobe scoffed. "Heh. Totally has," she piped in, crossing her arms under her cleavage with a mocking grin.

"Oh, shut up," Hajiki snapped at his best friend, his furrowed brow twitching and a muscle popping out on his temple. "What's going on in Shinjuku, Karim? You guys have been putting far too many people to rest in more days than the other Companies and the number keeps increasing."

Karim frowned. "That's none of your business, you should stay out of Company 1's business for your own good," he retorted coolly. But he approached the duo slowly, too curious. "How did you even come across your information?"

"People talk, Karim," Hajiki responded just as coolly, his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants. "And if what's happening in this district travelled up to my colleagues' ears, then it's bad. Seriously bad. It's been going on for a while, so how come you have no answer?"

Now you're getting on my nerves and my nerves are nearing their limits, Karim thought as his frown turned into a scowl and his jaws started to grind a little. In the corner of his eye, he noticed that Niobe was studying him in silence and merely listening. Analyzing everything he was saying to ponder his words after they leave the grounds. Hajiki may have nothing for the time being, but with his ex-girlfriend right here to give him a hand, it was only a matter of time before they started trailing his trail.

"Is this why Niobe is here?" Karim countered.

Hajiki didn't even hesitate. "Yeah," he confirmed, never cowering in front of him.

Seriously? Niobe was helping when even her captain refused to have anything to do with the other Special Fire Force Companies? Karim chanced a glance at her, only to see her grim expression of half-acceptance and her scowl as she cast her eyes down. The Second Generation knew that expression on her face—she actually didn't come to help with the investigation, she must have had something else in mind. Her best friend forced her. He returned his eyes onto Hajiki, now aggravated. Angry even.

"This was your idea, wasn't it?" he hissed coldly. "Dragging Niobe into this mess when the 7th thoroughly refuses to get involved with anything linked to the Tokyo Empire? What are you trying to do here, Hajiki?"

The Chief Platoon's eyes glittered like emeralds as he snarled. "Trying to help before your problems reach our districts, isn't that obvious?" he snarked.

The Lieutenant Priest passed a hand over his face to hide his frustrated expression. Oh, Karim understood that. But he couldn't allow anyone from other Companies to get involved in a mess that only concerned Company 1; not only was it too risky for other Fire Soldiers from different Companies to interfere, but should they find out what he's found out in these past two months, this was going to cause panic straight in the heart of the Emperor.

Worse: they'd find out about Rekka's deeds, which would cast a shadow upon the Holy Sol Temple and Company 1. Karim could scarcely imagine the backlash the Temple would receive, as one of their clerics was a traitor to the Empire and had blasphemed the great Sol so many times for whatever dark purpose. What his best friend has been doing these past few months was nothing short than monstrous—targeting little kids, turning them into Infernals?! For what goddamn reason?

Damn you, Rekka!

A petite hand suddenly settled on his left shoulder, warm and familiar. Surprised, Karim snapped his eyes open (were they still closed?) to find Niobe closer to him. She was grabbing his shoulder gently in an attempt to calm his nerves, which was a move she sometimes used to do when he wanted to cuddle her and forget about the Infernals he'd purified—because he was trembling. He was trembling and he couldn't help it, as the fear and disgust he was feeling were two strong emotions Karim couldn't cope with at the moment. Niobe's gaze was no longer unreadable, but kinder and softer; it wasn't pity in her eyes, to which he was thankful for.

"I... I have to stop him," Karim growled, his expression growing darker and more anguished as he stared at her. "I have to..."

Hajiki and Niobe perked up, confusion clear on their faces.

"Who's 'him', Karim?" the Chief Platoon inquired urgently.

He froze, his eyes going wide in realization. He even paled.

"Don't tell me... Is someone... is someone from Company 1..."

Karim gritted his teeth, feeling sick. Outsiders like them should stay out of this—especially Niobe. While she may not have known Rekka and considered him as a friend, she'd respected his friendship with her boyfriend and had even introduced him to her circle of friends. Should she learn that Rekka was responsible for the mass outbreaks of Infernals in Shinjuku, she was going to flay him.

"Hajiki."

Both Fire Soldiers turned towards Niobe, who was shaking her head in resignation. Her own expression was also somber, as if she'd felt Karim's inner torment and was now trying to avoid a breakdown.

"Don't make him say it," she implored, her voice ashen. "Just... just don't."

Hajiki looked like he wanted to argue, but one look at Karim's face told him all he wanted to know and he nodded. He backed away, turned around and started walking back towards their exit—slowly, because he was waiting for Niobe to catch up and guide him back outside. The sniper stayed rooted on her spot and stared up at him with peaceful eyes, her eyes friendly yet conflicted. Karim was certain she could see just how torn he was on the inside, though he wasn't willing to share with her anymore; she just had to know how much this bullshit was taking its toll on him. All he wanted was for her to—

"I won't ask who it is if you don't want to tell me," Niobe said, bowing her head to him. "Company 1 seems to have much on their plate and outsiders... should stay out of it."

Thank you so much, the Lieutenant Priest wanted to tell her in private. Again. Because confessing that Rekka was the one behind these mass combustion incidents would break him. It would bring so much pain, confusion and so many questions as to why one of his best friends was doing something so unholy to little kids. Huo Yan himself had no idea and Karim really, really wasn't looking forward to telling him what the hell was going on.

When Niobe slowly let go of his shoulder and took two steps back, Karim had to reel himself back before he could engulf her into a thankful, heartfelt hug. A little more and he'd have probably acted out on his emotions, thus doing something he wouldn't have regretted at all. Though he'd convince himself it was because he was feeling very emotional and irrational, Karim would have thanked his ex-girlfriend in the most deserving way. He may have moved on from Niobe to focus on his duty, but if there was one woman he'd want to confide in, it was her (And he was still a man, so sexual attraction was very much normal).

With one last nod to her, he hurried back towards his room so he could catch the two runts from Company 8. Her footsteps echoed behind him as she also jogged to join Hajiki before he could get lost while looking for the exit.

And then, Rekka.

Tokyo Empire, somewhere in Shinjuku, in the late afternoon

Hajiki sat down heavily next to Niobe, sighing loudly as he leaned back in the bench. On his right, she looked very somber as well as she sat with her arms crossed under her cleavage and her long legs crossed as well. Fuyubi lay on her bare thighs, enjoying the quiet afternoon they were having despite the thick tension between the two best friends.

"How bad is it, Niobe?" the Chief Platoon asked, his voice ashen.

He may not be looking at her right now, but he bet his months's salary that her expression mirrored Karim's torment pretty well. She inhaled, then exhaled almost painfully.

"Very," she answered, her voice small and cold. "Probably a point of no return. Karim hasn't revealed any name but his expression... was so clear to me."

So there is someone behind all these incidents of mass combustion and he knows who it is, Hajiki thought with conviction and sadness. Green eyes watched the orange sky without seeing anything, in tune with his restless mind.

"And he won't tell. I respect his decision, no matter how much it bothers me not to know who the culprit is." Hajiki turned to notice that his best friend was gritting her teeth in frustration. "What I can tell is that it's killing him from the inside, making him doubt and clouding his judgement. This isn't just a matter of who is doing this and how, this is about trying to know why. Why is this person killing people around mindlessly, uncaring of the grief and suffering the death of so many children has caused to the families? It doesn't make any sense to Karim."

Fuyubi yawned while stretching on Niobe's legs. "In other words, Company 1 may not just have a traitor among their ranks, there might be something else going on," he said. "Something that might justify the presence of the two rookies from that underdog Fire Force Company at the First; they've found something related to the mystery of Spontaneous Human Combustion and their lead pointed Company 1 as their primary target."

Hajiki frowned.

"So what you're implying is that they're using the Rookie Training Reassignment System to... infiltrate and snoop around?" he mused disbelievingly.

"I'm not implying, that's exactly what the 8th is doing. Did you hear about the so-called 'joint exercise' between this Company and the Fifth? Niobe thought it was too suspicious, so she hacked into the Fifth's computing system; not only was this 'joint exercise' a cover story to avoid attracting the attention of the other Companies, but also because the Eigth was looking for the data the Fifth had collected. They chose to have this exercise between the Companies just to cover up their assault on a Fire Force brigade under the thumb of Haijima Industries. They were investigating and sticking their noses where they didn't belong."

His green eyes found Niobe, who was looking up with a scowl on her lovely face. "What did you find?" he probed.

"A lot of things that didn't make sense to me at first, because this wasn't my area of expertise," she revealed, scratching Fuyubi's tummy absent-mindedly. "But the more I kept reading and torturing my brain, the more I started to understand that the pink-haired masochist and hyena has discovered something very disturbing. It makes sense now: her data reached a conclusion that a... bug disrupted the core of the victims it crawled up inside and somehow triggered the Infernalization."

She turned towards Hajiki, who sported an incredulous yet disturbed expression. Niobe looked just as put off by what she's just said, which was the understatement of the year. It sounded so ridiculous and farfetched that he didn't even know where to begin—a strange 'bug' that managed to trigger an Infernalization? Company 8 that was playing spy at the 1st under Captain Burns' nose at the risk of sparking conflict within the Fire brigades? Did these newbies even know what the hell they were doing? What the hell did the Fifth discover to warrant an investigation of the Lion's Company without him knowing?

What the hell was going on in the Tokyo Empire?

"These people at the 8th... do they have the slightest idea of what they're actually looking for? What they're doing?" Hajiki asked no one in particular.

Niobe shook her head and shrugged. "Who knows? Their captain is the one who should answer our questions, since he doesn't seem to trust the other Companies to the point he's investigating them all one by one," she drawled. "I'm sure he's got his reasons and I'd love to hear them. But think about this for a minute, Haji: the 8th has seemingly cleared out the 5th by storming their combine and likely has Captain Princess Hibana's support. Now two of their rookies used the Rookie Training Reassignment System to go undercover at the 1st and I'm certain Karim has found them out already. He's probably helping them catch the traitor among us so they can interrogate him."

She looked skyward with a tired groan.

"Does this mean they'll keep going forward with this investigation of theirs by paying us all a visit, one Company after the other? Will they come to the 7th and the 2nd as well to snoop around?" She clicked her tongue, aggravated. "Beni hates the Imperial Fire Force, even more after the Hikeshi Fire brigade was inducted by order of the emperor, and I don't see him complying with the captain of the 8th that easy, even if they have a good reason to investigate our jurisdiction. He doesn't want them in Asakusa, neither do I, even if they pretend to play by the rules and not be other Imperial lapdogs."

Hajiki passed a hand over his face with a frustrated groan. "Though I believe their intentions are good, these newbies may pose a problem," he sighed. "They might be stirring up more trouble than doing some good by sticking their noses in other Companies' business, which could cause more division."

Hajiki quickly knew that a lot was at stake in this situation. It wasn't like the Fire Force was a monolithic organization. The Companies were being led differently by captains with very divergent opinions and visions, so unity wasn't exactly something they all in mind. Although the emperor might have had the idealistic conception that all Companies would work together as a whole to stop Spontaneous Human Combustion, this wouldn't be the case when you had Niobe's boyfriend as one of the captains and a proud, stubborn proto-nationalist who would spit at the ruler of the Tokyo Empire if he had the chance to.

Should the investigation of the 8th prove to be fruitful and reveal something worthwhile, then the Fire Force might have to work something out.

A sudden whistling next to him got Hajiki's attention and he glanced at Niobe, who pointed above us.

"Look alive, we got a strange bird flying coming west," she drawled.

"Huh? Where?" Hajiki mumbled, looking north.

Niobe grabbed his chin and directed his head to look west without a word. And sure enough, he saw the 'bird': the flames coming out of the feet and the insane speed were enough to identify the target as a pyrokinetic and most certainly a Fire Soldier, judging by the orange outfit Hajiki could make out. He was shooting across the sky like a rocket, which was quite an amazing power to say the least.

"Who's that?" he inquired curiously.

"Kusakabe Shinra," she answered smoothly before jumping to her feet, holding Fuyubi with her arm. "If he's out here, then Karim must have told him what he knew. Let's go find our traitor before the rookie, guys. I'm driving, Fuyubi is leading by following the traces of residuals he's found earlier and we can catch the bastard."

"Finally, some action," the feline AI said gleefully.

What? Hajiki leapt to his feet, scandalized. "I don't think so, I'm driving," he hissed, glaring.

But Niobe was already jogging towards his bike, dangling the keys of his bike in one hand so he could see them. Gasping, the gunslinger actually patted his pockets for a second before growling in annoyance and running after his best friend, intent on driving his baby.

(They found the time to argue over the keys for a full minute)

"There, stop the bike!" Fuyubi shouted ten minutes later as he clung to Niobe's clothes.

Hajiki hit the breaks and killed the engine, stopping smoothly like an expert on the side of the road. Both he and Niobe took off their helmets just as the AI was jumping out of the sniper's hold and was running up a hill, nimbly taking the sturdy staircase. Up on the hill was a big, old warehouse that was more than likely empty, but the fact that his best friend's feline AI was dead on investigating that building was more than enough to believe that the traitor they were hunting down was holed up there.

Doing some weird shit with no witnesses around.

"We need to be as silent as mouses on this one, Emerald," Niobe murmured to him as they stopped at the base of the hill. "Should we alert our target, we might lose the opportunity to catch him in whatever act he's guilty of. Yeah?"

Hajiki merely nodded to her. He jogged up the stairs in a steady pace while Niobe played the acrobat, doing graceful and practiced jumps to cover several yards like a big bunny. Once they've arrived at the warehouse, both Fire Soldiers could hear a very familiar voice shouting something incoherent while someone else was just... screaming. Hajiki stilled against the wall with his eyes wide and his face frozen in cold horror, his ears listening while his mind identified the screaming voice.

A child. A young boy. And he was burning alive, the flames so vivid and powerful that he could hear them from his hiding spot. There was so much pain in his voice that he was yelling at the top of his lungs, all the nerves of his young body on fire. It made Hajiki shiver a lot, his hands trembling into fists. And the man screaming was none other than—

"Hang in there!" Rekka Hoshimiya was passionately encouraging. "I know that it burns but you can take it!"

Stupefied to hell, Hajiki and Niobe peeked past their hiding spots to witness the horrific scene themselves. They didn't have to search too long, as their trained eyes were instantly attracted to the great fire that was raging to the side, in which a young boy was burning in the center. His body was bent backward in a rather painful angle, as if he were contorting, but the pain must be nothing next to the blazing inferno that had engulfed him. Niobe had to cover her mouth before a gasp betrayed them, frozen in utter shock. On the ground lay a young girl, dressed in the clerical outfit Hajiki had seen many nuns in training at the 1st, so this must either be a nun or a fellow Fire Soldier who was also a nun. She was watching the scene as well, and though he and Niobe couldn't see her face, they figured she must be absolutely horrified and too petrified to do something.

"This is wrong!" she exclaimed in horror, her voice cracking.

And Rekka?

"Don't give up, Takkun!" he was shouting to the burning kid, still encouraging this madness. "Fight! Fight for your life!"

Hajiki tried hard to swallow the lump in his throat, but couldn't find it in himself to do so. The scene unfolding before his very eyes was just too surreal and horrifying. How in the hell was this possible? Had one of these strange bugs Niobe was talking about earlier done this to this boy? But how? Something like this shouldn't be possible, shouldn't be happening to a kid. Although Hajiki and Niobe were itching to act, they just couldn't—how the hell would they be able to help the boy? All they could think of was the way they'd subdue Hoshimiya without killing him.

Just when Hajiki thought that Takkun was about to lose the fight against the flames, they suddenly got snuffed out and the kid's eyes now turned yellow before they closed. He fell to the ground, unconscious and worn out. He didn't turn? Hajiki thought with a deep frown, flabbergasted.

"He didn't turn Infernal?" the injured nun wondered as well, surprised. "How can that be?"

But Rekka seemed to have the answer, as the hot-blooded son of a bitch was grinning triumphantly.

"This means that he's compatible," he murmured, excited beyond belief. "At long last! I pulled it off! I found a host for the Pilot Light!"

Niobe caught his eye with an incredulous, horrified gaze on her lovely face.

"The hell? 'Pilot Light'?" she silently mouthed off to him.

Hajiki could only shrug in puzzlement, his fists itching to beat the snot out of that passionate jerk. Whatever this 'Pilot Light' was, it just couldn't be something the Holy Sol Temple had tasked him to do—no, the Holy Sol Temple wouldn't kill the population they were proudly protecting. Something else was at work in the shadows and Rekka was in on it.

The Lieutenant Priest raised his fist proudly in the air with a mad grin. "That's great, but it doesn't the rest of you are off the hook!" he declared, stalking towards a pillar.

Only then did Hajiki and Niobe notice the other children after hearing their frightened gasps. They were huddled together, hiding in fear while the madman was advancing in their direction, holding two vials in which insects were sitting. Good God, Takkun wasn't the only one awaiting an unwanted fate? That young nun had literally handed those children on a silver platter for Rekka to just... kill them.

"So let's take the Pilot Light and earn victory for tomorrow! If you've got a fighting spirit, you'll be fine! Rev yourself up and win! Fiiiiiiiire!"

That settled it. Karim would have to forgive them both for lying to him, but since Hajiki had already roped Niobe in this bloody mess and they'd caught Rekka red-handed and with his pants down, they'd have to see to it.

Present time

Tamaki watched in amazement as Niobe shot an arrow at Rekka while gracefully moving around to avoid his fiery fists, which nearly took his entire arm and was hot enough to burn his shoulder. The clothing was instantly burned, leaving his skin out in the open. The arrow blasted a crater into the wall it crashed into, which made the young nun gape in disbelief at the big hole it created. The Lieutenant hissed in pain, but that didn't deter him from throwing punches and kicks. Niobe was avoiding as if... as if she could anticipate the traitor's movements, and she was evading him with such ease that it seemed to infuriate Rekka; she wasn't even using her hands when striking back, just her feet and legs. It was almost like she was dancing.

"My stars!" Rekka shouted before throwing a powerful punch. He coughed a little and spat some blood, his eyes twinkling. "I don't get it, Niobe! We could have been a much better couple, yet you chose Karim over me! I'd love to know why?"

Niobe blocked his punch with the back of her wrist, then forcibly pulled his arm down so that her knee collided violently with his face. As much as it was satisfying to watch, it still made Tamaki wince and flinch while Hajiki shielded the scared children behind him with his body, his face hard and unapologetic.

The white-haired archer scowled at the Lieutenant. "Because Karim was a million times better than you and you could never hold a candle to him," she declared, her voice calm yet cold while retracting one long leg.

The high kick she landed in his chin sent him up and back as her leg made was drawn up at a perfect 180°, but Niobe wasn't finished. She quickly spun on one heel, brought her other leg up to kick Rekka square in the face before he could drop on the ground. The force of the blow was powerful enough to send him flying. But something else happened unexpectedly while Rekka's back was about to meet its doom against the wall.

An orange-clad flying teenager just... got in the way—from the sky—and inadvertently caught the Lieutenant before he could even land. The two of them crashed hard in the background as the three Fire Soldiers could only stare at the smoke, eyes wide in disbelief and utterly baffled by what just happened.

"Was that...?" Tamaki gasped, struggling to stand up on her two feet.

"The rookie from the 8th?" Hajiki wondered.

Niobe was the more shocked as she blinked twice, standing on her feet as well. "Kusakabe? You okay over there?" she called out loudly.

Painful groans answered her, which prompted Niobe to prepare for whatever would be coming. Pointing a fiery green arrow in direction of Shinra and Rekka, she stared ahead until the smoke cleared. Her former student was slowly sitting up against the destroyed wall, nursing the back of his head with a grimace. Rekka was slumped against him, coughing up blood harshly and holding his stomach with a very pained expression.

Cherry red eyes blinked open to gaze up at Niobe, then widened in realization when they landed on the Lieutenant. "M-Miss Kirishima, you...," he stammered, kicking Rekka off him and standing up to stare at Niobe, stunned. "Why are you here? You're after Rekka too?"

Niobe bristled, her mismatched eyes glowing. "Look alive, idiot!" she and Hajiki shouted.

But too late: while the young Fire Soldier was too distracted, Rekka had gotten up despite being wounded. Shinra turned around far too late.

"My stars!" the Lieutenant yelled as he punched Shinra square in the face.

Cursing at the kid's stupidity, Hajiki sprang up. Before Shinra could collide with him, the Chief Platoon glided on the ground, shot up his hands and grabbed the rookie by his collar. He hauled him over with a grunt until he could throw him more gently near Tamaki and the children. While this move had Rekka distracted, Niobe used this split second to shoot an arrow in his direction. He saw it coming, as reflected by how his eyes widened in shock—just too late, as the aim was perfect.

Tamaki witnessed the action in slow motion, her eyes wide and her mouth gaping. The green arrow shot right through his extended left hand, disintegrating it very slowly, shot up through his arm and destroying the flesh and bone, up until even the shoulder was blown off. Not even the ashes of the bones could be seen. The deadly arrow finished its course in the wall behind Rekka, creating another crater in the solid concrete.

Tamaki gasped painfully, her heartbeat wild and her chest constricted. Shinra gasped as well, flabbergasted as he froze in his position. Rekka lost his balance and tumbled backward, his face frozen in an expression of utter shock, then fell hard on his ass. Breathing hard and loudly, the Lieutenant slowly brought up a trembling hand towards his bleeding stump, squeezed and palmed at it, then took his hand back to stare at the bloody palm. He sat there for a moment, silent and merely staring, until he snapped his head up to glare at the indifferent archer. The bloodlust was unmistakable.

"NIOOOOOOOOOOOOBEEEEEEEE!" he roared hatefully, his voice echoing around.

"He's all yours, Shinra!" was all Niobe ordered as Rekka scrambled up and lunged at her.

The entire arm, the young nun thought panickingly as she trembled uncontrollably, she blew his whole arm off with just one shot. Next to Tamaki, Kusakabe shot up with his feet to intercept the enraged Lieutenant, whose remaining fist was surrounded by fiery flames. The Devil's Footprints performed a similar move close to what Niobe had done earlier to counter Rekka before he could get to her, with his hands flat on the ground and spinning on them to kick the Lieutenant in the face, thus blocking his way and shielding Niobe.

"No!" Rekka roared again, struggling to get back up. "This can't be happening! Not to me! Not when I finally found a compatible child with the Pilot Light!"

Shinra snarled, standing over the hunched form of the hot-blooded son of a bitch. "You're finished, Rekka Hoshimiya," he said coldly. "Just give yourself up."

But Rekka wasn't even listening, lost in his madness. "I finally found a kid who can serve as the Pilot Light host! For the Evangelist's sake, I can't let him go!"

"Curse that hot-blooded bastard," Hajiki growled. "Can we shut him up?"

What the hell is he even spouting? Tamaki couldn't help but wonder in complete confusion, aghast as she shielded the kids from the madman. Rekka shifted on his knees, threw his head back and roared at the top of his lungs. It echoed around, causing the children to squeak and sob harder in fright. This sudden action shouldn't be so surprising at all for those who knew of him, especially Tamaki, but after what just happened, it still managed to stun them—Niobe and Hajiki were, for instance, dumbfounded as they stared at the unrecognizable and insane son of a bitch, lost for words to describe him at this moment.

This... who the hell was this? Was this Rekka Hoshimiya? The real Rekka Hoshimiya? Had he always been a front to everyone? To Lieutenant Karim? To Lieutenant Huo Yan? To Captain Burns? This was so horrible and surreal that Tamaki felt like vomiting over and over, because she felt so light-headed at the moment that a mere shove would slam her to the ground. This was a nightmare in which she couldn't wake up from.

"Why have you been turning children into Infernals?" Shinra demanded. "How many accomplices do you have? And who is this so-called 'Evangelist'?"

Tamaki watched as Hajiki slowly stood up and held Rekka at gunpoint while Niobe joined him with graceful steps, three fiery arrows notched with her fingers and holding the traitor at gunpoint as well. The two of them weren't hesitant in their positions, no waver and no fear. They would shoot Rekka if he made one wrong move, just like when the archer had just blown off his arm with one arrow.

Rekka coughed as he slowly heaved himself up to his feet, the star-shaped pupils in his eyes glowing. "We will seek out compatible children and create strong new pyrokinetics," he said with conviction—as if he didn't care about snitching. He looked like he was in a transe. "We'll produce countless Infernals and return mankind to flame."

What on earth? The devotion and conviction everyone could hear in Rekka's voice and words were so firm that it was borderline fanatical. A quick glance around confirmed that Shinra, Hajiki and Niobe were just as lost.

"All is in according to the will of the Evangelist," he finished, on his feet and looking skyward.

There was a brief, stunned silence in which the Fire Soldiers just kept staring at the madman. Because, what the hell could they even say right now, except that he had fully gone insane?

Shinra was the one to finally ask the dreaded question. "What the hell are you after?"

Rekka was all too happy to answer: spreading his arms wide under the sunlight of the late afternoon, he faced everyone with a maddening grin and a crazed look in his eyes.

"Behold the radiance of the blazing star ensconced in the Heavens!" he shouted passionately. "What greater end could we seek than to return to Sol's warm embrace? We will set all human beings alight, engulf the earth in a great flame of fire that its imperfections be burned away by the flames of salvation!"

The madman took a small breath.

"We will turn this world into a second sun!"

Tamaki openly gaped, her mind almost shutting down at the sheer lunacy of these words she'd just heard. Not only was it so insane that she couldn't believe anything out of it, but Rekka looked so convinced of the truthfulness of his claims that there was no way he couldn't believe them. This contradicted everything Tamaki had learnt at school and going through the exams to become a nun—absolutely everything. This fanatical madness she'd been hearing from her idol was nothing more than the beliefs and teachings of a group radically different from the Holy Sol Temple.

A cult.

"Hoshimiya," Niobe murmured, her voice ashen. "You..."

"... want this world to be a new star!" he finished, his maddening grin still in place.

"Enough of this bullshit, my brain is about to explode," Hajiki growled, glancing at Tamaki. "Sister, get the children to safety and away from this insane son of a bitch!"

Rekka's crazed eyes snapped at the group of children and the young nun just as Tamaki was trying to lead them away from the scene. Heated, he began moving his remaining arm around as hard as he could, but the blood loss he'd been suffering from got to him and he fell to his knees with a painful grunt. His hand shot up to his stump and squeezed it hard as flames licked around his wound. Rekka groaned in pain as the fire cauterized his stump, his features twitching.

"I don't think so, kids," he opposed strongly. "I wanted it to look like you burned to death! I wanted to take you away to receive the Evangelist's teachings!"

Those particular words made Shinra perk up in attention, which immediately got Niobe's.

"Wait a sec," he began, his voice shaking a little. "You take kids from fires..." His face turned desperate and wild. "But in that case, you guys could have taken my brother!"

"What are you talking about, Kusakabe?" Niobe inquired calmly. "What do you mean they could have taken your brother? I thought he was dead."

He ignored her, too taken by the near-revelation he'd just heard from Rekka's own mouth. Lunging forward, Shinra grabbed the Lieutenant by his burned top and snarled in his bloodied face, his expression wild. Forgetting all about running with the kids, Tamaki watched instead as the rookie from the 8th confronted Rekka with renewed vigor.

"Did you do it? Did you guys take my brother?! Tell me!" he shouted angrily, shaking the Lieutenant like a ragdoll. "Did you kidnap Shō as well and kill my mother?!"

There was so much desperation, pain and anger in his voice that Tamaki couldn't help the way her heart constricted in her chest. Despite her confusion at his sudden outburst, the sympathy she felt at his predicament was genuine and strong. Kusakabe also wanted answers.

Instead of answering, Rekka swung his fist at Shinra at full speed and hit the rookie square in the face, sending him backward. But the Devil's Footprints was nowhere finished as he flipped himself back on his feet, like a break dancer. Flames danced around his feet as he prepared himself to lunge back at the madman, but a sudden shot that hit Rekka straight in his remaining shoulder stopped him short.

Hajiki stood in front of his slumped form, the canon of his gun smoking as he kept him at gunpoint.

"That's enough," he ordered in a firm, chilly voice. "We're taking your ass into custody before you can stupidly die of blood loss. That injury Niobe's dealt you with is bad, it needs to be treated immediately."

Rekka chuckled weakly, blood gushing from the bullet wound. "Those children... belong to the Evangelist," he rambled on. "They're my mission... I won't fail!"

He shot forward, aiming to punch at Hajiki, but fell pathetically on the ground with a groan. He lay there at the gunslinger's feet, exhausted and on the brink of losing consciousness. Clicking her tongue, Niobe extinguished her bow and arrow, joined Hajiki in front of Rekka and brutally kicked his head. Tamaki gasped as he was sent backward like a ragdoll against the wall, where he slumped uselessly with half-lidded eyes.

"I-I think he's had enough," she tried to reason, giving Nataku Son a piggy back ride. "You beat him."

"Thank Sol for that," a new voice said coldly.

Her eyes shot open as she saw Lieutenants Karim and Huo Yan advance in direction of Hajiki and Niobe. Their gazes fell on Rekka's defeated, slumped form against the wall and observed him silently. From her position, Tamaki couldn't describe their expression really well, but she was ready to bet that they were crestfallen and absolutely aghast of their friend's betrayal. When Karim gritted his teeth, turned away from him and closed his eyes in anguish, she knew she wasn't half off the mark.

"I still can't believe it was you," he snarled. "I wasn't watching your back so you coud kill kids..."

"We should put him on lockdown," Hajiki declared, putting his gun away. "He's lost an arm and I shot him in the right shoulder, so he needs to be treated right away."

"How did he lose the arm?" Huo Yan asked softly, surveying Rekka's severe wounds with a critical eye.

The sniper lifted a hand. "I did that," she responded, her voice indifferent and tired. "And I'm not sorry, Huo Yan. Not after what we've seen and heard."

Karim and Huo Yan stared at her with conflicted expression. Frowning at their reaction, Niobe unabashedly and rudely jerked her thumb at the bastard. They won't like what she was about to say, but if they were going to call her out, might as well beat them to the bush. If she had to be a psychotic bitch for them to understand that Rekka had never been what he made them believe he was, then so be it.

"Before you berate us for not listening to you," Niobe started flatly. "the man you've called your 'best friend' for years has been killing children for months, without any remorse whatsoever, to search a host for what he called the 'Pilot Light'. Whatever that means. Fact is, he killed a lot of people and hasn't bothered counting. There's also another corpse I've noticed back there, so he must have killed an adult as well before we arrived at the scene." Next she pointed at the kid Tamaki was holding. "And here is the boy Rekka used a goddamn bug on, which almost killed him. For some reason I can't understand yet, he didn't turn into an Infernal. He's the priority as of this moment."

"But did you really have to go that far, Niobe?" Karim retorted, his voice betraying his inner torment. "Destroying his entire arm when you could have just subdued him so easily?"

"I could have, yeah. I just chose not to," she admitted with a huff. "His power was a problem. You haven't seen what we've seen, Karim, Huo Yan: had I not severed one of his arms, he'd have done something drastic. He would have killed us all, if it meant covering his tracks." She glared at Rekka. "If anything, the bastard was devoted to his mission and would have completed it by any means necessary."

Hajiki scowled, stepping in front of her. "Be glad we haven't killed him for the things he did and said, Karim," he snarled.

Her frown softened, but she still didn't look remorseful.

"Now isn't the time to be angry at me for severing his arm off, you've got children to take care of and prayers to give, Lieutenants," she finished.

Karim hissed after a moment. "Yeah," he huffed, frustrated to no end. "We should put him on lockdown just like you said, Hajiki."

He passed by Niobe, nearly brushing his shoulder with hers, and headed straight for the kids and the young nun of his Company. Hajiki stepped in to assist Huo Yan in bandaging Rekka's wounds and stopping the bleeding. Inhaling deeply and exhaling, Niobe crossed her arms under her cleavage and closed her eyes. I didn't sign up for this bullshit, she thought as she welcomed Hajiki's pat on her shoulder with an aggravated expression. Fighting Hoshimiya Rekka hadn't been on the menu for today, meaning that the rest of the day was fucked because she wouldn't be able to forget the crazy events that just happened.

However, what just happened was far from normal; a serious cultist among believers who turned people into Infernals for some obscure reason she found absolutely insane? There was no fucking way Hoshimiya was alone in this bloody mess. He was a plant, a traitor to the Fire Force and the Tokyo Empire. Like in these old movies she used to watch with Karim back when they were still a couple, there had to be more—he couldn't be the only one. It was more than likely that the Special Fire Force must be compromised.

A sudden, crazy thought shot through her mind. If Rekka infiltrated the Force, then others could have. What if there were others in other Companies? What if... what if they had also infiltrated Asakusa rightunder Company 7's noses and were waiting for the right time to strike?

"So, uh," Shinra started uneasily as he came to stop next to her, his red eyes studying Niobe. "I had no idea you were also investigating the 1st."

Already spilling the beans on what the 8th was doing behind closed doors?

"We weren't," Niobe said, opening her eyes to shoot him a guarded look. "You guys at the 8th are and you're not even subtle about it. First the assault on the 5th, then the infiltration in the 1st... who's next?"

Shinra jolted upright and his anxiety shark-toothed grin curled up automatically—so his nervous tic hasn't gone away at all... it gave him away at once.

"What are you getting at?" he asked slowly.

Nice try. "You can't lie to me, kid. Your face is betraying you at the moment and—"

What the—she thought incredulously, her eyes widening. Her ear perked up so suddenly to this all too familiar whooshing sound that Niobe's instincts immediately kicked in and her body followed the motion; she grabbed Shinra by the front of his collar and jumped out of the way, dragging the unsuspecting rookie along with her. A second later, the very spot she used to stand on all but exploded when the projectile landed. The sudden noise and explosion took everyone else by surprise, but not Hajiki and Karim; the gunslinger immediately whipped his gun out again and took cover behind one pillar after urging Huo Yan to take the unconscious Rekka with him behind another. Karim ordered Tamaki to get the kids to safety behind pillars and out of sight, then also hid behind one as well.

"What the hell was that?" Shinra shouted as he scrambled back up.

Hajiki gritted his teeth in slight disbelief. "You've got to be kidding," he growled back. "He's got back up? Or are they here for another reason? But the power and precision are similar to..."

He didn't even have to finish his sentence. Was that...

Yes, it was. She couldn't mistake that shot. It was an arrow made of fire—just like hers—and meant for to take her life. The bloodlust emanating from south west of their position was strong, yet as calm as a Koi fish pond. Much like her when she had to filter all thoughts and emotions out of her mind and body in order to have perfect hits when sniping. Bloody hell, there was another sniper out there with eyesight as excellent as hers?!

"It's a sniper!" Karim announced in an exclamation.

"You know where they're shooting from?" Huo Yan yelled.

Niobe flipped herself back on her feet like the gymnast she was and dragged Shinra with her as she ran as fast as she could towards one unoccupied pillar. When her trained ears picked up the sound of the arrow being shot and flying towards them again, she jumped again with the young rookie, evading death or a severed limb in the nick of time.

Growling in frustration, she hastily made a half-assed bun and mentally prepared herself for a showdown.

"South west of us, certainly from the roof of a building where the sniper can see all of us!" she shouted, her back against the pillar. "Stay hidden or you're dead!"

Hajiki's green eyes glowed as he inspected the location she'd just given them. "I see them: two targets on top of a building south west of us, just like you said!" he confirmed. He glanced back at her. "You can't retaliate if you don't have a visual, Niobe! They have the advantage right now because they can see us! I certainly can shoot back, but without the proper firearm, my eyes won't be of much use and I won't be able to land a hit!"

Niobe cursed, scowling. The sniper sure took them all by surprise, choosing a safe distance—just like she'd have done herself.

"H-He can see through walls?!" Shinra exclaimed, awed as he sneaked a peek at Hajiki. "That's amazing..."

Her eyes found Karim's, which seemed just as frustrated as hers. Remembering all their training sessions, what Niobe had loved about his fighting experience was his craftiness and ability to come up with a good strategy to win. If anything, Karim Flam would be the one to get them out of this situation. So when his gaze settled on Shinra, his face instantly lit up.

"Shinra!" he called out. "Put up a smokescreen!"

Jolting into salute, Shinra steeled himself. "Right!" he exclaimed.

Now we're cooking, Niobe thought as she prepared herself while the Devil's Footprints ignited his feet and flew around the warehouse, close to the ground so that he left a trail of thick smoke behind him. Nicely done and efficient, obstructing the other sniper's visual of the targets. Looks like Karim hadn't forgotten her lessons during training and was making good use of it. Nonetheless, Niobe had to wonder who could possess the same power. Who the hell was it? What were they here for?

Her eyes snapped at Rekka, gauging him. Still unconscious, but bandaged so that the bleeding stopped (almost a shame he didn't die...). Niobe scowled as many thoughts raced through her mind, considered them one after the other, mostly came up blank until one made sense: because of the frequency of such Infernals these last months, Rekka had to have become desperate to come up with duds during his search for compatible children. So... should there really be a cult out there and should he really have allies, had they also considered the possibility of silencing him? Just so he wouldn't talk?

If so, then these two enemies had indeed come to kill Rekka. He was a sacrifice. That's what I'd honestly do, Niobe thought as she snarled hatefully.

"Shinra, can you get eyes on the enemy?" Karim inquired.

The young Fire Soldier bounded up and hung onto the edge of the window, carefully peeking his head up. He quickly turned back towards the Lieutenant Priest.

"Two targets on the roof of a building south west of us!" he announced.

Karim nodded and turned towards his subordinate, his instrument and bell at the ready. "'Kay! On Shinra's signal, project your fire as far south west as you can, Tamaki! And do a zigzag-zagziggy kind of thing to hide your position!"

The girl nodded. "Yes, sir!" she quipped.

As she put herself in position, Niobe caught sight of Fuyubi scurrying her way, his ears flat on his head and an expression of pure terror on his face. Crouching with an apologetic expression, she opened her arms just as her feline AI jumped and buried his face in her bust. Though he was a robot, this kind of unexpected situation and danger truly was a no-no for the fierce Fuyubi.

"I. Want. To. Go. Home!" he wailed in fright, rubbing his head into Niobe's bust while she stroked it. "This is far too much for a poor little cat like me! I sent the entire footage to Atlas, who must have warned Captain Shinmon and Lieutenant Sagamiya by now! Your boyfriend is going to lock you in your room and I'll be gladly holing up with you too for a week!"

"If you survive," Niobe muttered as she turned back to witness the action.

(She already knew that Fuyubi had registered the whole showdown with Rekka—from when he'd used that damn bug on the little boy to... this. Benimaru was so going to lock her in their room without a second thought if he visioned the whole thing by the time she'll be back in Asakusa. Not only will he be worried sick, he'll also be livid at Rekka's words from earlier. Not that Niobe would mind, he had every right...)

One long tail of ruby red fire shot out from Tamaki's ass to fly out of the window the second Shinra gave her the signal, long and wavering from all sides to confuse the other sniper. Then what followed was the sound of Karim's bell, which froze the fiery tail. Nodding to herself, Niobe readjusted her hold on Fuyubi.

Huo Yan turned towards him, still holding Rekka down for safety measure. "Karim, what's the point of this?" he inquired, confused.

"We're demonstrating that we know their position while constructing a barrier to further obstruct their view of us," the Second Generation instructed calmly, looking up at the opened window. "More importantly, we're doing something that they won't understand, which means they'll try to guess and psych themselves out."

Nodding again, the sniper leaned back against the pillar and patiently waited.

"After all," he added, sneaking a swift glance towards Niobe. "snipers do like to work from safety."

She definitely taught him well, which was a great relief. Her eyes watched raptly as Tamaki's second tail extended and shot through the other side of the window towards the sniper, then got frozen by Karim's attack. Now it was all or a death battle with the other sniper, whom Niobe highly doubted would come down to confront them head on—as a sniper herself, she wouldn't have done that. She'd have kept her distance, especially if she was a long-ranged fighter and not skilled in hand-to-hand combat. And with all that smoke and ice, she wouldn't have gotten an excellent shot throughout.

After about a minute, Shinra turned back to them again.

"Hey, looks like the targets are on the move!" he said. "Should I go after them?"

Frowning, Niobe slowly got out of her hiding spot. "You shouldn't," she warned, looking up at him while regrouping with Hajiki. "We don't know what else they're capable of."

"Besides, didn't you fly all the way from Company 1?" Karim added, coming out of his spot as well. "You'll get overheated if you try to go and fight them. You'd just get killed. All we can do right now is hunker down in our shell like frightened turtles. If we let them run with the wrong idea, then I'm sure they'll run away from us."

"But are they really gone?" Niobe asked Hajiki.

His green eyes glowed as he surveyed the entire area, looking left and right. Karim, Huo Yan, Niobe and Tamaki waited with baited breath, their bodies tense and ready for anything. The sniper had all of her senses ready, trying to detect the Breath of Life that could come from any direction. She hadn't signed up for this mess, so she was going to get out of this alive and in one piece—by any means necessary. Meaning that their enemies might actually lose more than a limb like the hot-blooded bastard.

When Hajiki nodded, everyone relaxed with weary sighs. The danger was finally gone, the children were safe—for now. But something major had been uncovered, something that may actually concern all Fire Force Companies and Niobe truly didn't want to be in her captain's shoes right now for the paperwork he'll have to read (since she still had to write a report to state everything that happened today).

The headaches will be a bitch.

"Hurry and get back to Company 1 to put Rekka on lockdown and have him secured," Niobe told Karim and Huo Yan with a very serious face. "I don't think we've seen the last of those bastards."

Both Lieutenants frowned at her in confusion, like Kusakabe and Tamaki. Hajiki merely waited, his arms crossed.

Karim immediately took a step in her direction. "Tell me what's on your mind right now," he coaxed her.

"Although the sniper's aim was perfect, I can't help but wonder if Rekka here might have been the real target," she said with a snarl. "If they were indeed his allies and he wasn't working alone, then the sniper was sent to execute him before he could spill the beans."

"Should he be captured alive, he could compromise whatever these people in white must be doing in the shadows," Huo Yan breathed, gritting his teeth. He exchanged a worried look with Karim. "With how talkative he is..."

Casting Rekka a dark look, Shinra tightened his fist and his shark-toothed grin showed up again. "There's a chance they might come back to finish the job," he guessed.

"Let's not take the chance of staying put, I'm calling reinforcements to ensure our safety," Karim groaned as he unhooked his talkie-walkie. "We need to secure Rekka and come back safely to Company 1 with him alive so he can be interrogated."

So this truly wasn't over at all. If her theory proved to be right, then Hoshimiya being alive at this moment could put these people in white in a very dangerous and delicate situation. Since the sniper had tried their best to get a good shot at the traitor and finally opted to aim at her, then there really was a chance of them trying their luck once again to silence Hoshimiya for good. And this time, who knew if failure was an option? The man must know a fuckton of their mysterious deeds, so if he spoke and revealed more than what he'd already spouted about today...

More trouble. The perks of being a Fire Soldier, ain't it?

This whole mess was... it was too much. Niobe huffed deeply while taking her backpack, Fuyubi tucked safely inside. She joined Hajiki against the wall, leaning next to him. The gunslinger looked like he was being assaulted by headaches as well, though he hadn't done much and had protected the children while she was fighting the madman. Nevertheless, she couldn't blame him as so much had happened in one peaceful afternoon that turned nightmarish and unwanted.

Now, all Niobe wanted was to be reunited with Beni, hole up with him in their room and just... find a way to relax. As of now, should he have watched the whole footage, he must be going crazy and impatiently waiting for her to come back home. Or... he was already on his way to get her back himself and fly them home on his matoi. Either way, she was certain her boyfriend was in a very bad, crappy mood and he wouldn't calm down until he had her in his arms.

A hand fumbled with her massive afro, then freed her curls in a gentle manner. Her favorite one bounced between her eyes while the others fell into place easily in her signature, round and luscious afro.

"I should be bringing you back to Asakusa," Hajiki declared softly as he nudged her to lean forward a little bit. He began gathering most of the curls in both hands. "Captain Shinmon must be out for my blood by now and after today, I'm highly allergic to bloodlust."

Heh. Who could blame him?

"Hmm," Niobe hummed. "What about Hoshimiya?"

Hajiki clicked his tongue. "Company 1's mess and I honestly don't care right now. Here," he said as he finished her bun.

"Thanks, Gunslinger."

Her eyes trailed over to Shinra, who had been joined by Karim. Rekka lay at their feet, bound and restrained. Huo Yan stayed with the children, reassuring frightened and stressed kids along with Tamaki. Her ex and the rookie from the 8th were speaking about... something.

Something that her ears caught.

"... is investigating the other Special Companies, right?" Karim was saying, his eyes fierce. "I bet you're after the Evangelist too. I want him caught just as much as you guys do." He offered his hand to Shinra. "Let's catch him together."

Hold on a sec.

While Karim's sense of justice truly was admirable, the sniper hoped that he'd be able to understand that the Hoshimiya Rekka he believed he knew well had been a front. A lie. Was he hoping to get the hot-blooded bastard to come out clean and... what? What was next? Would he miraculously come back to their side after repenting for his many sins, just like all believers thought? The madman was gone, out of his damn mind.

Niobe frowned deeply when she saw Shinra take Karim's hand with a smile.

"That sounds good to me," he declared, relief in his voice.

Ah. So Company 8 really was investigating the other Companies to find clues about this so-called 'Evangelist' (whoever or whatever the hell that truly was...). Interesting. What the hell were they even hoping to find? Did they even believe they'd just waltz into Asakusa when they weren't welcome there? Benimaru ought to know about this.

Hajiki jumped away from the wall, strolling in direction of his bike parked down the hill.

"Let's go, Curls. We're done here."

Yeah. They were.

Tokyo Empire, Asakusa, early evening

The sun was setting just as Hajiki slowed down at the gates of Asakusa, the impressive Kaminarimon hovering over them. Just as she suspected, Benimaru really was there waiting for them next to a very grim-looking Konro. When she spied the murderous expression on his handsome face, Niobe sucked a breath and cursed mentally.

He was pissed alright. Beyond pissed—he was absolutely livid.

She hastily got off Hajiki's bike and took off her helmet, making eye contact with her boyfriend with the most peaceful expression she could muster as of now. While it didn't completely defuse his wrath as he briskly walked up to her, his embrace was warm, heartfelt and strong as he caged her in his arms and she couldn't help the way she wrapped hers around his neck. She met his lips half-way in a hard, short kiss that she happily returned before he pressed his forehead against hers and studied her face.

"You okay?" he inquired against her lips, cupping her cheek.

Niobe nodded. "Yeah," she murmured. "I'm exhausted, Beni. Please take me home."

"You're not leaving the bedroom until I say so, Niobe," he growled, wrapping his arm round her waist to pull her flush to him. His face nestled in her neck while she pressed hers against his shoulder. "What the hell did we watch?"

It wasn't every day that Shinmon Benimaru showed emotions akin to dread, but that was exactly what Niobe was sensing from him—dread, disgust, horror. Fury. You name it. What he'd seen just wasn't natural, but she was also ready to bet that his wrath steamed from everything Rekka had said. She could feel his bloodlust surrounding him, strong and vibrant, and she didn't want him to feel this way. Never.

"The beginning of trouble," she murmured in his ear.

Between putting people to rest the Asakusa way and dealing with things his way, their days hadn't really been peaceful. Now?

Things were going to get rocky and crazy. Starting with Company 8.

Author's Note: I'll be. That's my longest chapter to date. So, as you can see, this is Canon with divergence as I'd already stated previously. Things will change thanks to Niobe's character and I'll make sure to make this story as logically and realistic as possible. It still needs to make sense to everyone, but to me first.