Hey everyone!
I know it's been a while, sorry to keep you guys waiting. This will be the final chapter for the story, so please enjoy!
Have fun with chapter 12
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This night, sleep evaded Arthur like never before. The Knight King was lying in bed, listening to his soundly sleeping roommate's breath as his thought spun around, trying to make any kind of sense of their current situation.
Even if he wasn't as smart as Licht or the Lieutenant, he still did his best to try to figure things out. The days in which the Devil had been missing had made it more then clear to him that loosing his annoying teammate wasn't something he could ever be contempt with.
Of course, Shinra was strong, and very much so. After all, he had survived out there long enough for someone to find him, something Arthur wasn't sure anyone else would have managed. He knew no other person who was as stubborn as the black haired teen currently sleeping in the same room as him. But still… The White Clad weren't enemies one could ignore. Even one of them had proven to be almost too much for their entire company to handle. If they were after Shinra again while he was still weak and defenseless, they all needed to be on high alert.
He wouldn't let them take him away. Company eight would not managed to cope with loosing him again, that much was clear.
Sighing, the blond turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what was going on here at all. Especially with Mr. Hige. Sure, the old man had kinda seemed like a creep when he and the others had been at his house, but still… If he'd wanted to kill Shinra, or abduct him, why hadn't he done so before? According to Mrs. Hige, the old couple had been taking care of their Devil for multiple days before alerting them, so why not do it then? Why take the risk of breaking into their fire station?
Now that he thought about it… Hadn't Shinra been alone with the old man for a bit while he, Vulcan and the Captain were served breakfast the other day? Thinking back, it had seemed kinda odd that their comrade had gotten worse as quickly as he had back then as well.
So maybe… Maybe that bastard had actually tried? But why then? If he didn't intend for his wife to find out, then why not do it when she'd gone to get them?
None of this was adding up damn it!
If he wanted Shinra dead, then why not just sabotage his medical treatment? Why not quickly dispose of him when no one had been around to notice anything suspicious?
Unless… unless killing Shinra wasn't what the old man had intended to do.
Sitting up abruptly, Arthur stared ahead with wide eyes. Could that be? At least, it would explain why the old guy had risked getting caught by coming here.
If he'd only intended to kidnap their friend, then at least part of it would make sense.
He needed to talk to the Captain like, right now!
Jumping out of bed, the Knight rushed out of the room and ran as fast as he could towards the office. Thankfully, their leader wasn't one to turn in early, so the odds of Obi still being awake were pretty high right about now.
To his relief, the blond could see light shining through the, only partially closed, door. Not bothering to knock, he threw it open all the way and entered, completely startling the older man in the process.
"WHA-… Arthur?! Why-"
Not bothering to let his superior finish, the teen completely cut him off. "Yo, I think I figured something out!"
Completely taken aback by the sudden intrusion, Obi just nodded. "Oookay, so, mind explaining what this is about? I thought you were back at your room keeping an eye on Shinra, right?"
"Yeah, but then, my great mind came up with something really knightly."
"Knightly? What do you mean Arthur? I really hope you didn't abandon your task because your role play decided to have you being an idiot again!"
He could hear his superiors barely suppressed annoyance right now, but decided to not let it phase him. "Don't be ridiculous Captain, even if he's a Devil, I would still not abandon him unless it was absolutely necessary to do so. Anyways, I think I figured something out about the old man."
"You mean Mr. Hige?" Now, he had the complete attention of his Captain. "You figured out why he came here?"
"Yeah, something like that." The blond couldn't help but feeling proud. After all, he came up with something that not even the great minds of the other members of his company had been able to think of. "You see, I was thinking about the fact that none of what Mr. Hige had done so far has made much sense, right?"
Obi nodded and beckoned for him to continue.
"But then I thought that maybe, if he wasn't actually trying to kill Shinra, which would make kinda sense since he's had plenty opportunities to do so and still hasn't managed to end his life, maybe, he wanted to take him alive for some other reason. "
Thoughtful look on his face, Obi nodded. "You're right, and we've thought about that as well, but there is still something we don't understand yet. The thing is, if he intended to kidnap Shinra, then why wait until we've taken him back? Even if his wife isn't involved, it still shouldn't have been too hard to think of something to tell her in order to explain her ward's disappearance, right?"
As he listened to the older male's musings, a sudden thought crossed Arthur's mind. "Right, but Captain, didn't Mrs. Hige say they didn't know who he was when they found him? We only confirmed his identity once we were there, right?"
The other looked as if someone had just punched him in the gut. "You're right! Damn, why didn't we think of that earlier? Even if he knew what Shinra looked like beforehand, with all those bruises and injuries, it would definitely have been hard to recognize him, especially to someone who doesn't know him as well as we do!"
Silence enveloped the room as both men thought back to a few days ago. Back then, even Arthur, who'd known Shinra longer then any of the others in company eight had needed a few seconds to recognize their comrade.
"Sir? There is one other thing I was thinking about."
"Okay, please continue."
"Right. Do you remember what happened the morning we had breakfast with Mrs. Hige?"
Shuddering, Obi nodded. "Sure, that's kinda something hard to forget, right?"
Arthur nodded. Finding Shinra in far worse shape then only half an hour earlier had surely been a shock to all of them.
"I was just thinking… What if that guy did something to make him worse so we maybe wouldn't leave back then? I mean, if he only started planning when he knew who he and his wife had saved, then that would kinda make sense, right?"
Now, Company eight's Captain looked furious. "Arthur, If you're right about that, then this means that he not only attacked my company and tried kidnapping one of our crewmen, but also intentionally hurt Shinra, when he couldn't even attempt to defend himself! I swear, if your theory is correct, then I'll make sure this monster is properly punished for this!"
Arthur had rarely seen Obi looking this pissed. Honestly, he could understand his superior. He was pretty mad about that himself. "So… uhm, what do we do now?"
Sighing, the Captain shook his head. "There's nothing we can do about this tonight. For now, I want you to go back to your room and stay by Shinra's side. We still don't know if Mr. Hige was acting independently or not, so I won't take any risks. Tomorrow morning, we'll have a meeting to discuss this further. Also, Hinawa and I will have a chat with our dear prisoner before that."
Honestly, he would have preferred to take care of this right now, but Arthur also had to agree with his Captain. Not only did they still have some unanswered questions, but the two of them also needed their rest. Now that the adrenaline from his sudden moment of genius had vanished, the blond was starting to feel really tired.
So, instead of objecting, he nodded and prepared to leave.
However, just when he'd reached the door, a warm hand on his shoulder stopped him. Looking up, his sky blue eyes met the soft brown ones of his Captain.
"Thank you Arthur, you did very well tonight and I'll make sure the others know about this. Maybe now, we can finally leave those horrible weeks behind us for good."
"Yeah, I really hope so, I hate seeing him like that…" Without another word, Arthur finally made his way back to his and Shinra's shared room. Thankfully, upon entering he noticed that absolutely nothing had changed. The only sound in the dark and warm bedroom was the steady breathing of his rival.
He still wondered about what the hell Licht had used to knock Shinra out with, but decided he was too tired to try figuring things out right now. He'd done more then enough thinking for one night after all. One mystery per day was more the enough.
Crawling under his soft sheets, he finally closed his eyes, his mind at ease, knowing that Captain Obi would take care of things from now on. Sighing in contempt, he finally managed to fall into a deep and restful slumber.
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The next morning, Obi and Hinawa had met up before breakfast and then had preceded to go downstairs to where Mr. Hige was still being held.
Interestingly enough, the old man, who up until now had not given them even the smallest piece of information, just sighed in defeat when presented with the theory Arthur had thought up last night and confirmed it, just like that.
Finally, he also gave them the reason behind all his doings.
After breakfast, everyone, except Shinra, who was still soundly asleep, gathered in the office as requested. After being told about what had transpired the night before, company eight's Captain continued with, what he'd just learned from their prisoner.
"… As for the reason Mr Hige just gave us for doing what he did… Apparently, he used to be a member of the White Clad, but then, upon meeting his wife, decided that it wasn't worth risking her safety over anymore, so he quit, or at least, tried to. He told us he didn't feel as contempt as expected with his current life anymore and decided that he needed something to get back to the Evangelist's people in good graces. Once he found out that he and his wife had found exactly what he needed by pure accident, he wanted to make the most of it. Unfortunately for him, we were there and, according to him, left him with no choice but to try taking Shinra back by force. Also, the rest of the White Clad don't know about any of this since he intended to bring Shinra to them as some kind of surprise and apologetic present or something."
After this explanation, everyone was silent for a few moments. They all looked like they couldn't believe someone doing this out of such selfish reasons. Not only hurting others, but also tossing aside a person as nice as Mrs. Hige, just because he had gotten bored with her.
Finally, Tamaki was the first one to speak. "So… It's over then?"
Obi nodded with a sigh. "Yes, I think it is. If Mr. Hige has been honest with his statement, I doubt we'll have much more to worry about."
Everyone visibly relaxed upon hearing this.
"So then, to sum things up, we'll only have to deal with everything left from the earthquake, hand over our prisoner to the military and make sure Shinra gets back onto his feet quickly, right?" Vulcan looked at everyone as if he dared them to add anything else to the list. Thankfully though, no one did.
"And speaking of that Hellion…" Arthur looked Licht and Captain Obi straight in the eye. "We'd better make sure he's gonna be back at a hundred percent before Ogun and Instructor Pan come to visit. They'll definitely have our heads if we let anything else happen to him."
Maki looked at the blond in surprise. "I didn't realize you guys were this close Arthur."
The Knight nodded. "Well, the Devil, Ogun and I always hung around each other and Instructor Pan. Hmh, I guess he was the only teacher that didn't hate Shinra and actually managed to deal with the three of us, so we kinda grew on each other, you know?"
"What, like mold? Disgusting…" Tamaki's muttered comment was almost drowned out by Vulcan's laughter and Maki's cooing.
"Could we please get back to the topic at hand?"
Silence enveloped the room once again as all eyes were turned to the Lieutenant, who in turn looked at Obi. "Please continue Sir."
"Ahhhm, sure. Anyways, Licht, did you by any chance check up on Shinra today already?"
The scientist shrugged. "Nah, not really, I peeked in on the little guy earlier, but since he was still asleep, I thought it best to keep it that way."
"I see. If he hasn't woken up at noon, I want you to wake him. He still needs to eat. Also, I think whatever you knocked him out with yesterday might have worked a bit too well, don't you think?"
"Oh, not at all, Captain. I think our dear Shinra was just really tired. I haven't given him more then what's necessary to keep him asleep for maybe five or six hours at best." Seeing the doubtful look on Obi's face however made the man surrender. "Don't worry, I'll be taking care of him as soon as the meeting is over."
"Thanks. I expect everyone else to continue with their daily tasks for now. Also, I think we should try compiling a list of houses that are still inhabitable. After all, there's almost no water left out there, so people might as well start going back home as soon as possible. Of course, the ones who's houses were completely destroyed can stay here until everything is rebuild. Any questions?"
After everyone thought about this for a sec, Vulcan raised his hand. "What about Mrs. Hige? We'll have to tell her what happened to her husband, right?"
"You're right Vulcan, This is why the Lieutenant and I will go to her house today. We'll bring her here and then talk to her. Anything else?"
"Yes Sir." This time, it was Maki, who spoke up. "What about the children? We've still go a few kids here who couldn't be reunited with their families. The need someone to take care of them, right?"
Obi nodded, unusually serious. "Yes, I think the best cause of action would be to keep them here for now, at least until we have a permanent solution. Of course with this arrangement, we'll have to find someone to watch over them when all of us are out. Also, I still hope that we'll find at least some of their parents in due time. After all, we're not the only place that houses refugees right now."
Since those seemed to have been all the questions for now, the Captain dismissed his company. Just as promised, Licht went straight to Shinra's sleeping quarters, delighted to find the teen actually awake at his arrival. Calmly, the scientist made sure to rely all the information from their recent meeting to the Devil, who listened for the most part, only asking a few questions once in a while. Thankfully, Shinra took everything pretty well and after only fifteen minutes of explaining, Licht was finally able to check up on the teen's injuries.
He was delighted to find that none of them had worsened and that the antibiotics seemed to work perfectly, as the visible signs of infection had lessened considerably over night. After administering a new dose of medication, Licht got up and left to grab some breakfast for the kid.
Meanwhile, Obi and Hinawa were already driving towards the secluded place they'd found Shinra in a few days earlier. Now that the water was almost gone, there was no need for the boat anymore. With their usual vehicle, the drive took less then an hour.
Once there, both men were at a loss. How were they supposed to tell her that she was about to loose the person she'd married? Of course, dealing with Infernals often resulted in death and loss, but never had either of then hat to have a conversation like the one they were currently preparing for.
They finally agreed upon that Obi would do the talking since the Lieutenant often seemed a bit too distant while consoling those who'd been left behind by their loved ones.
After getting out off the car, they noticed the small figure hurrying towards them. Of course, a loud and big vehicle like the one they were driving was easy to notice in a quiet place like this.
"Oh my, I didn't think I would see you again this soon Captain. What can I do for you? I sure hope my dear patient is alright? I couldn't stop worrying after you rushed off with him the other day, he really looked quite ill!"
Politely, Obi bowed. "It's very nice to see you again Ma'am. Also, thank you so much for your concern, Shinra is feeling a lot better already. Thankfully, our company's scientist was able to properly clean and treat his injuries and if nothing changes, he's expected to make a full recovery."
"Oh, that's good to know, thank you so much! But I suppose, you didn't only come all the way out here to tell me this, did you? You look like there is something else on your mind, dear."
"Yes, unfortunately this isn't just a friendly visit, although I'd really prefer it if that was the case. Mrs. Hige, would it be possible for you to maybe accompany us to our fire station? I'm afraid we have some serious matters to discuss with you."
Sighing, she nodded. "This is about my husband, isn't it? I haven't seen him since Yesterday and he's been acting pretty strange since you people left the other day. I'm afraid I don't know why though, I'm sorry."
Taken aback by this, Obi needed a second to compose himself. He often forgot how perceptive old people could be. "Yes, you're completely right Ma'am, this is indeed about your husband. I'm afraid he's gotten himself into a lot of trouble. We thought it might be best if we discussed things at out HQ, especially since this is where he currently is at."
"Alright then, just let me get my purse real quick, then we can leave."
The two men thought it strange that she didn't even ask if he was okay. Maybe she knew, or at least suspected something about his actions already?
Only minutes later, the trio found themselves on the road again, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Once at their fire station, everyone got out of the Matchbox and walked towards the Captain's office.
On their way there, they passed a few civilians, but no one else. Apparently, the entire company was busy with their duties right about now.
Once at their destination, Obi started explaining things to Mrs. Hige. The elderly women listened with a sad smile on her face. After the Captain had finished, she just nodded. "I knew something was up, but I never thought he'd do something like this. You all have my deepest apologies. He once told me he used to be involved with some sort of organization, but not once did he go into any details, only told me he left because of me…"
Both fire soldiers were lost for words, neither able to imagine how she mist be feeling right now. To be betrayed by the one you loved like this surely must feel horrible.
"Thank you for bringing me here and telling me about all that's happened. I wish we didn't have had to meet up under such sad circumstances again. I won't ask you to forgive what he did, neither will I ask you to allow me to see him. If this is the road he chose for himself, he'll have to walk it alone. I only wish...-"
Before she could continue, the door was flung open by a small and energetic figure. "Hi Mr. Captain, you're back1 I was waiting for you because the creepy guy told me to wait and ask your permission before I could go and visit my Angel right now and I-"
"Ahhm, Shizuku-chan? We have a visitor right now and you just interrupted her."
The young girl looked at Mrs. Hige in surprise. Horrified, she clasped her hands over her mouth. "Ohh, I'm so sorry Oba-san!" Bowing in apology she apparently waited for someone to yell at her.
However, when no such thing happened, she slowly straightened her body again and looked at the old women with curiosity shining brightly in her emerald eyes..
Mrs. Hige only smiled at her. "Oh, what a lively child. So, You're name is Shizuku-chan?"
"Yeah, are you here to see my Angel too?"
"And who might that angel be, little one?"
Apparently, Obi decided that this was the right time to intervene. "Ah, yes. She's talking about Shinra. Just before we lost him, he saved her and since his ability let's him fly, little Shizuku has convinced herself that he's an angel."
"My, how adorable!" Right now, none of the sadness that had been on the woman's face only minutes ago could be seen. "Well then Shizuku-chan, I actually would really appreciate it if I got to see him as well. Would you be so kind and show me where I can find him? Of course only if Captain Obi allows it."
After he nodded his consent to the uneven pair of women, they all hurried out of the room.
The planned visit was successful, at least Shinra was awake and seemed happy enough to see them all, even if he didn't really remember that much about Mrs. Hige. To see the teen she'd rescued the other day doing better in any way imaginable seemed to help the old women a lot. By the time the end of her stay rolled around, there was almost none of the grief she surely felt because of her husband left in her eyes.
Also, after walking around the fire station and getting to know the soldiers, as well as the civilians bit by bit, she seemed to have found a new purpose for herself.
On the way back to her house, she told Obi about an idea that she'd come up with during the last few hours. Since she'd be living alone from now on anyways, she might as well share the spacious house with others. She offered to take in all the children that didn't manage to find their families again and take care of them until they were ready to do so by themselves.
The Captain would have never thought the most pressing of his problems would all resolve themselves like this in only one day. Now, things would finally be able to go back to the way they were before the earthquake.
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So then, that's it.
Tank you all for reading until the end and being as patient with me and my slow ass writing for all this time. When I started this story, I didn't intend to write more then maybe five chapters. All things considered, I'm very happy with how it all turned out in the end.
I may decide to write a companion piece like an epilogue or something in the future, maybe a one shot focusing on Ogun and Pan visiting. Would you like to read something like that?
Also, I'd really appreciate to get everyone's opinion on this story as a whole.
Thanks again for ally our support.
nahesa