Updated author's note: I got tired of this story not existing so I wrote it. If you spot typos or anything, comment or message me. Also, I've tried to make it as canon-friendly as possible, but the actual Fire Force series isn't over, so some things might contradict canon because the information wasn't revealed until later (The wiki had Sho's age incorrectly listed as 14 instead of 13 until I was about ten chapters in, so he's a year older than he should be in this story.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Force or any characters therein.

This story is dedicated to my friend Éowyn, who, despite never watching or reading Fire Force, has listened to my writing progress for months on end, occasionally reading bits so I could get a second opinion.

SHO'S ARROW

PROLOGUE

YEAR 188

Sister Hotaru, Headmistress of St. Lilith's Elementary, stood in front of a small council of elders and commanders in the church of the Evangelist.

"The 3rd pillar has become withdrawn and despondent. Also, his ignition ability has been acting up, and he's caused a few small fires lately. We at the school cannot give him the individual attention he needs. I think it would be beneficial if he had someone who focused solely on him.

"In other words, I believe it would be best if he were assigned a guardian."

Dr. Ochibana, the woman who had accompanied Sister Hotaru, stepped forward. "After observing and examining the 3rd pillar, I agree with Sister Hotaru," she said. "As you know, ignition ability control is affected by emotions. This is especially true in young children, as they don't yet have the capacity to reason. The 3rd pillar will only benefit from a stable, devoted authority figure in his life. If he gets more individual attention and feels more secure, then his ignition ability shouldn't be as erratic."

"Well, he's four years old now, so it is about that time," said Yona.

The council considered this. The only other pillar they had at present was Haumea, now seven years old, and because of her mental abilities, she had needed a dedicated guardian from the time she was three. That had had... mixed results. Charon, her current guardian, was not always successful at getting Haumea to behave, but since his charge had telepathy and even mind control among her powers, he was doing a pretty good job.

Still, the council wanted to be more cautious when assigning Sho a guardian. He was a pillar, not an ordinary child. They could not afford to make mistakes.

They talked amongst themselves.

"We need a fighter, since a pillar's guardian is first and foremost his bodyguard. Preferably a 3rd generation pyrokinetic."

"It would have to be someone responsible, and devoted to the Evangelist. Someone raised in the faith."

"In other words, someone from the combat school."

"Perhaps someone else who has trouble bonding with others? If a pair like that got together, they'd be inseparable."

"That could bring its own set of problems."

"Yes, but if necessary, the threat of separating one from the other can be used to keep the two in line."

Rey Juuzawa, head of the White-Clad's combat school, addressed Sister Hotaru. "In that case, I have a recommendation from among my cadets. She's a bit young for the job, but she fits the criteria otherwise. Please interview her."

Sister Hotaru inclined her head.

Yona stood. "As always, we will beseech the Evangelist to reveal her will and bestow upon the 3rd pillar a guardian worthy of the title. Látom."

Everyone tented their hands. "Látom," they said in unison.

CHAPTER 1 — INTERVIEW

A girl sat in the elementary school's lobby.

She was somewhere between woman and child. She'd recently had a growth spurt and her legs were a bit skinny, but she was otherwise well proportioned. She had the beginnings of a feminine figure, but was still growing.

She was dressed in her school uniform: black shirt and leggings covered by a white jumper with a red Holy Sol cross on it. The jumper was held in place by a braided white belt, but she wore a white skirt underneath it for modesty's sake. She had white boots but had already stored them in the school's shoe locker. It was a simpler version of the uniforms that the White-Clad soldiers wore, meaning she was a combat student.

Most of her hair was covered with a white hood, but she had the part that covered her face pinned back so that some of her bangs were visible: a few long locks with clips on them to keep them out of her face. She had bright blue eyes with odd, arrow-shaped white pupils.

And she was here because the 3rd pillar needed a guardian.

Arrow, age fourteen, had been put on the list of candidates based on her abilities and personality. Mr. Juuzawa had personally recommended her. If he hadn't, she wouldn't even have been considered due to her age. The other candidates were all sixteen or older.

Arrow didn't know all that, but she did know that it was an enormous honor to even be considered for this position, as it wasn't one that you could apply for.

So here she was, at St. Lilith's Elementary, the orphanage / school that she had lived at until she was ten, waiting for her interview. Arrow would simply go in and spend the afternoon playing with the little boy, Sho. How well they got along would determine whether or not the higher-ups would assign her to be Sho's guardian.

Sister Hotaru greeted her and then led her to the playroom that Sho was in. "It will be just the two of you in there. He's a bit shy, so don't worry if he doesn't want to talk much at first. Just behave naturally around him; I'm sure you'll do fine."

As she entered the playroom, Arrow was nervous. She hadn't been around young children in a long time, and had few friends her own age. In one corner of the room sat a little boy playing with blocks. His hair and skin were very pale, and he had striking red eyes framed by long eyelashes. He was so beautiful that it was unnatural.

She walked toward the boy slowly. "Hello, my name is Arrow. Are you Sho?"

The boy looked up from his blocks, and then went back to building without saying anything. Now what?

Arrow sat down near him, but was sure to give him space. There was another container of blocks within reach, so she pulled it over and started stacking blocks on top of each other. Sho watched her, curious.

Finally, he spoke. "What are you making?"

"A house. What are you making?"

"A castle."

"You like castles?"

"Yeah. Knights live in them and fight bad guys."

Arrow kept asking him questions and Sho became more and more free with his answers. They had gotten a good conversation going when they heard a racket in the hallway. Then Haumea practically kicked open the door and dashed over to them.

Haumea was the 2nd pillar, and the brattiest child that Arrow had ever met. Why was she in here? She was supposed to be alone with Sho.

"Oh? What's this you're building?" Haumea didn't give Sho a chance to answer. "A castle? Well, let's see how sturdy it is."

"Haumea, don't—" said Arrow, but she was too late: Haumea plucked a block from the castle's foundation and it all came tumbling down.

"I guess it wasn't that sturdy, Sho. Oh, well~!"

"Haumea..." growled Arrow.

Haumea ignored her. "Ooooh! Arrow's building something too? A cute widdle house? Well it sucks!" Haumea kicked Arrow's house over.

Arrow gave her a death glare and then stood up slowly. She towered over the younger girl. Arrow pointed to the door. "Haumea, get out of here."

Haumea just looked up at her gleefully. She was daring Arrow to make her leave.

"Go. Now."

The standoff was coming to a head when Charon, Haumea's guardian, ran through the doorway, panting. "Haumea! You're not supposed to be in here right now!"

"Shut up, Charon!"

The young man grabbed Haumea's arm and pulled her towards him. He looked at the blocks scattered around Sho and Arrow. "Haumea, did you knock down something that they built?"

Haumea stayed silent.

"Haumea? Haumea, answer my question. Don't make me ask them. Haumea—"

"Fine! I did. You're so annoying!" she hissed.

Charon scowled at her. "Apologize! Right now!" He put his hand atop her head and pushed her into a bow.

Haumea grit her teeth before she spoke. "I'm sorry, Sho."

"For what?" said Charon.

"For wrecking your castle."

"Good. Now apologize to Arrow." Charon swiveled his hand so that Haumea's bowed head faced in Arrow's direction.

"I'm sorry, Arrow."

"For?"

"For wrecking your stupid house!" Haumea escaped from Charon's grasp and ran out of the room.

"Haumea!"

After Charon had left to chase after his little hellion, Arrow closed the door and came back to see Sho looking at the ruins of his block castle. His bottom lip quivered slightly, but he didn't cry. He looked like he was used to this. "Haumea's mean."

Arrow sighed. "Yeah, she is." Arrow could not stand that child. "Sho, we can build another castle. A bigger one."

"I don't wanna."

Arrow looked around for something to do next. She spotted a bookshelf across the room. "Want to look at some books?"

Sho stayed silent.

"Well, I want to look at the books." Arrow went over to the shelf and picked out a book about animals.

Sho had followed her.

"Do you like animals, Sho?"

He nodded.

"Me too. I want to see if my favorite animal is in this book." She glanced at the title: Wild Animals of The Past. Her favorite animal wouldn't be in this book, but maybe Sho's would be. "Okay, I'll turn the pages and you show me what animals you like best."

Arrow sat down on the floor and Sho sat down next to her, leaning on her leg so he could see the book better. Any closer and he would have been sitting in her lap. She turned a few pages before Sho pointed at a picture.

"Elephants? Are they your favorite?"

Sho nodded.

Arrow sighed. "I wish I could see a real one."

Sho sighed too, copying her. "Me too. Where did they go?"

"They all died a long time ago."

"Oh."

Arrow decided to lighten the mood. "Want to know what my favorite animal is, Sho?"

He nodded.

"I like kitty cats. You've seen cats before, right?"

He nodded again.

"Cats don't like me, though. Whenever I try to pet one, it scratches me. Then I have to put on bandaids." Arrow sighed for dramatic effect. "I don't understand: I just want to be friends."

Sho patted her arm sympathetically, and Arrow almost laughed. So serious!

They looked at picture books until Sister Himeno brought them some fish-shaped cheese crackers for a snack, which they ate at the kids' table. By now, Sho was much more talkative, chattering on about one thing before switching to a different topic with no warning because that's what little kids do.

Before they knew it, time had run out, and Arrow had to leave so that she wouldn't miss evening prayers. As she was leaving the room, Arrow turned around and waved at him. "Bye, Sho. I had a lot of fun playing with you today."

He waved back. "Bye!"

Arrow truly had enjoyed herself, and hoped that she would be chosen. It was up to the Evangelist now.

Sister Hotaru was impressed. She'd been watching them on the surveillance cameras in order to assess Arrow and the girl was a natural. The other two candidates hadn't even come close. Sho was afraid of the young man who visited him two days ago. It wasn't the young man's fault; Sho just was not used to being around men, since the school's sisters were the only adults in his life. The girl from yesterday wasn't bad, but was a little too exuberant. Sho was not afraid of her, but he didn't really open up to her either. Arrow's naturally reserved personality had gotten Sho to come to her.

And when Sister Hotaru "accidentally" let Haumea into the room, Arrow had stood her ground.

Arrow was definitely the one sent by the Evangelist.

After reporting the interview results to Yona and Headmaster Juuzawa, Sister Hotaru cancelled the other interviews and started preparing the necessary paperwork to make Arrow Sho's guardian.

A few days after her interview, Arrow was sitting in the mess hall during lunch when a voice came over the PA system. "Miss Arrow, please report to the headmaster's office; Miss Arrow, to the office." She wondered if she was in trouble. As far as she knew, she hadn't done anything, but...

When Arrow entered the office, she was greeted by not only Mr. Juuzawa but also Yona, Dr. Ochibana, and Sister Hotaru.

"The 3rd pillar was unresponsive to the other guardian candidates," said Sister Hotaru. "In fact, he specifically asked when you were coming to see him again." Arrow blushed a little, and Sister Hotaru smiled.

"Arrow, you have been chosen to be the 3rd pillar's guardian, should you accept the position," said Yona.

Arrow's heart started pounding and her face flushed red. This was it. She'd been chosen, just as she'd hoped.

"Before you answer, Arrow, you must understand what it means to be a guardian. You will guard that boy with your life. You will raise him. You will always put him before yourself. You are young, so both his school and yours will help you, but ultimately, the 3rd pillar is your responsibility.

"Knowing this, do you accept the position of guardian?"

"May I have a moment, sir?"

Yona nodded and Arrow stepped out into the hall.

This... was a huge honor. It was a sacred duty. It was a divine blessing. It was a quiet little boy sitting in a room by himself, waiting for someone. Waiting for her.

Arrow's heart was still pounding as she re-entered the office and said the words that would change her entire life:

"Yes sir, I accept."