Summary: In a world where death by fire is regular occurrence, the Fire Force are the ones to call for help. With the addition of a very unusual member with her fair share of secrets to Company 8, it's their job to find out just what is causing all these unusual death.
Author Note: Hello, everyone! For those of you who know me, I haven't been on for a long while. A lot of real life stuff went down and my computer up and died on me. It took a long while for me to get back to writing and even longer time to find muse to write anything decent. For those of you who don't know me…ignore the last part. I'm back and that's all that matters! Anyway, to the usual spile….I'm Kyandi, pronounced like Candy. I only recently found out that people didn't get that. Anywho, please feel free to read, enjoy and review, but, please, no flaming. There's a big difference between constructive criticism and flaming and I will not stand for the latter. If you don't like it, just don't read it. All flamers will be reported and have their nasty little comments posted all over social media. XD With that said, read and enjoy. I do not own Fire Force.
Chapter 1 Electrifying Welcome
In this life there are several reasons for why people die. Old age, suicide, illness, murder. Out of these, the number one most terrifying cause of death…death by fire.
Spontaneous Human Combustion.
No one knows when or who it will strike next, only that those who suffer from this form of terminal illness, turn into mindless creatures called Infernals. These Infernals, referred to as the First Generation, wreak havoc on the world, only stopping when they either burn themselves out or they are put to rest.
There is no cure.
Those responsible for putting these poor souls to rest are the men, women, and over all questionable people of the Special Fire Force.
Second Class Fire Solider, Shinra Kusakabe was finding out just how hard of a job it really could be. After adding Arthur to the team of Company 8 and the complete disaster that cancelled the Rookie Games, Obi let him in on the secret behind the formation of Company 8. To investigate the cause of Spontaneous Human Combustion.
Of course, Shinra was all too happy to help since it aligned with his own goals anyway. While he had the news of his brother possibly being alive to process, Shinra knew that solving the Infernal problem came first. Before he could even start to process all of it, though, Obi gave them all some more news.
They were getting another new member.
When Obi explained to them all where this new person came from, all of them were surprised.
Nyuhebun.
Otherwise known as the Special District, Nyuhebun was a small, independent district caught between the Taito Ward in Company 8's turf, Asakusa of Company 7 and the Sumida Ward within Company 4's territory. Unlike all other wards and much like Asakusa, Nyuhebun ran not under the Empire's rule, but that of a group called the Slade.
Since Nyuhebun's founding, it had been run by the Slade, a predominantly female organization. While nowhere near the largest ward in the Empire, it hosted the most orphanages and largest population of children, the women of the Slade taking it upon themselves to care for all the children orphaned by one thing or another. No child dropped on their doorstep was turned away. It was all done without any help or support from the Empire. The last Shinra had heard, they even dealt with their own Infernal cases with the help of their Task Force.
For Company 8 to be receiving a Nyuhebun inhabitant as a member shocked them all.
"You're serious, sir?" Shinra found himself asking.
"Very. Her name is Elektra Casteel. She's a member of the Slade's Task Force and has one of the highest rates of success against Infernals among her peers." Obi picked up a file on his desk, flipping through it. "She's known as a thermoelectric user."
"What's that?" Shinra shot Arthur a "how stupid can you be" look, an answer coming from behind them all.
"It means I possess the ability to spark my own flames and turn them into electricity." Everyone turned towards the door, their eyes landing on a young woman standing there. "For the record, it's not as cool as it sounds."
Elektra Casteel was five feet, five of maturely curved, fair-skinned woman. Her face was slim with full lips, a small and straight nose, and big, doe-eyed, candy apple green eyes. Hair as white as freshly fallen snow fell down from a ponytail all the way to her hips while chin-length bangs completely hid the left side of her face.
As the members of Company 8 looked her over, they were met with what they were later told was official garb for Slade Task Force members. Elektra was barefoot, wearing short shorts and a cropped halter top under a colorful wrap that wrapped around her waist and up over her left shoulder to form a sleeve that fell past her fingertips. Black, fingerless gloves raced up her arms, toeless and heelless stockings covering her legs up to her thighs. A string of gold disk that Elektra later told them showed her rank in the Task Force, was strapped around her right thigh, jingling with every step she took.
There was a pleasant smile on her face, a bag sitting on the floor beside her feet. When she had everyone's attention, her smile grew. "Hello. I do believe you were talking about me. You know what they say…speak of the devil and she shall appear."
"You are Casteel?" Hinawa asked.
"Yes, sir. Second Class Fire Solider, Elektra Casteel at your service." Raising a hand, she gave them a salute that was far too stiff to be well practiced. "Excuse my awkwardness. We Slade don't salute in the same manner as you do."
Obi stepped forward then, wide grin on his face as he greeted her. "I'm the captain of Special Fire Force Company 8. Akitaru Obi. This is my lieutenant, Takehisa Hinawa."
In a more Slade fashion, Elektra placed her right fist over her heart horizontally and bowed in greeting to them. "Greetings."
Obi then turned to the other members, in traducing them all. "Our nun, Sister Iris, First Class Fire Soldier, Maki Oze, and Second Class Fire Soldiers Shinra Kusakabe and Arthur Boyle."
"A pleasure to meet you all." Elektra responded before being forced to lean back as Arthur popped up in her face, eyeing her. "Can I help you?"
"Do all princesses wear such blindingly colorful garments?" Arthur demanded.
Elektra didn't miss a beat or even blink. "Only Slade ones, I suppose."
Arthur hummed to himself as he pulled back from her, allowing her to straighten her back once more. This only produced a low chuckle from Elektra as Arthur seemed to seriously consider this new piece of information.
"Wow, I never thought I'd see a Slade join the Special Fire Force." Maki remarked.
Elektra gave a shrug of her shoulders. "I'm a bit of an unconventional Slade. Not to mention that when our leader, Reine Ymir, was approached about sending a member of our Task Force to Company 8 for special reasons, she deemed me the perfect person for the job." Elektra gave them all a salute. "I'll do my best."
"We'll be counting on it." Obi gave her a nod. "We'll give you a tour and get you settled and then it's right to work."
"Yes, sir."
Reaching down to pick up her bag, Elektra gave them all a smile before turning to follow Hinawa out of the office. Elektra was settled into an unclaimed bunk in the women's quarters. She wasn't used to sharing a room with anyone outside of her family, but she was looking forward to getting to know these women she would find herself living with and working with.
Once she was changed out of her official clothes, she was assigned a desk in the office where paperwork already awaited her. Elektra walked back into the office in a pair of gold capri pants secured low on her hips and the top she had been wearing under the colorful wrap. Even though she was still wearing the gloves and stockings from earlier, the lack of the colorful wrap gave them all the view of something they hadn't seen before.
Racing up the entire left side of her body, from the tip of her bared toes up to her neck and even up the left side of her face…was a mass of burn scars. As she sat down, her bangs shifted to give them a look at the scars curling up over her cheek and towards her eye. One stretched out scar even bisected her eyebrow and reached up onto her forehead.
It wasn't until she was settled into her seat and was reaching for the stack of papers that Elektra noticed that they had all fallen silent and were intently staring at her. "What's wrong?"
"S-sorry, we didn't mean to stare." Maki apologized.
Elektra's eyes turned downward towards her scars. "Oh! You didn't realize I had scars."
"Sorry!" Maki exclaimed.
Elektra laughed in response, waving it off. "Don't worry about it. I'm used to the stares. They aren't very pretty, are they?"
With a simple shrug of her shoulders, Elektra went back to the papers before her. As if she had done paperwork her whole life, she pulled it towards her and got to work making her way through the stack. She truly seemed not to care one bit about the stares. Looks passed between the others, but they let it go. If Elektra didn't care then they would simply return to their work, though several of them wondered how she had come across her scars with those with pyrokinetic powers usually had fire resistance.
Hinawa and Obi left the office to see to their own work and silence fell over the room. It was only broken when Shinra looked up to find a dead kind of look on Arthur's face. It looked like the boy was about to waist away. "Would you quit looking like you're dead when you're doing office work? You're killing my motivation."
Elektra glanced up from the paper in her hand, grinning when she got a look at the expression on Arthur's face. Refocusing on her work, she was in mid-sentence when the phone rang and Arthur answered with a greeting that had her eyes flying up, wide.
"You have reached King Arthur Boyle, Lord of Camelot. What news do you bring?"
Elektra blinked in questioning as Maki snatched the phone away from Arthur, her eyes turning to Shinra. "Please tell me that's not how we're supposed to answer the phone here."
"No, that's just him being stupid." Shinra told her.
"Ah! Not an office person, got it."
Elektra turned back to her work, Shinra turning on Arthur. "Hey!"
"What?"
"Why did you become a Fire Soldier?"
Elektra glanced out of the side of her eyes as Arthur answered. "Because I'm a knight."
To Elektra's credit, she didn't snort or laugh. At least…not out loud. Shinra, though, couldn't help the twitching of his left eye at Arthur's idiocy. Maki stopped any further comments.
"Hey, you two. We just got a call. Apparently, a dog climbed a tree and can't get down. Would you go help it?"
"Rescue a dog? But that's work for the regular firefighters. Why would they call us?" Arthur demanded.
"People call fire soldiers when they mean to call the firefighters all the time." Maki replied. "And you guys aren't getting anywhere with the office anyway. Even Casteel is getting more work done than you and she just started."
Elektra smiled as Shinra, and Arthur looked at her. "I'm already used to office work like this, and, please, call me Elektra. We don't stand on those kinds of honorifics in Nyuhebun."
Maki nodded with a smile of her own, turning back to the boys. "I can take care of the rest."
"Okay. I'm on it." Shinra rose to his feet. "With my power, getting a dog out of a tree should be a breeze."
"Do you mind if I tag along?" Shinra looked down at Elektra, the woman straightening a stack of papers. "I need to get acquainted with the area anyway."
Shinra agreed and soon they headed out with Arthur tagging along. Shinra walked between the two as they headed for the location the caller had given them.
"But still…a dog climbing trees?" Shinra remarked. "Come on, dog. You're not a cat!"
"I don't know," Shinra looked at Elektra as she spoke. "I've seen dogs scale trees in order to get over fences. They can climb just as easily as cats can."
"Still…" Shinra's attention turned to Arthur, kicking one leg out towards him. "And don't follow us. We can do this without your help."
"Hey, I wanted to get out of the office, too." Arthur retorted.
"Don't put me on your level!" Shinra snapped.
Elektra let out a little laugh as she watched the two. "It's obvious you two have known each other for a while. You fight like cats and dogs."
Shinra opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a yell. "It's the firefighters! Come on, over here!" A man waving for their attention gestured them over to a tree where he pointed up at the branches over his head. "He's up there!"
The three looked up as they neared the tree, Elektra blinking in surprise. "Oh, my! That is not a dog."
"No, it's more like…a Mamoru-kun." Shinra agreed. Up in the tree was the dog-like mascot of the Fire Companies. "Is it me, or is that the guy from Wone Wone Niyue?"
"At least you don't have to worry about a dog that wants to bite or scratch you out of fear." Elektra told him, trying to make it positive.
Shinra merely shook his head before flying up to help the poor man down. The man inside the suit thanked Shinra for his help while Elektra dusted leaves from his shoulders.
"So," Shinra pointed up at the tree. "What were you doing up there?"
"I was at an event in the shopping district, handing out balloons, and some of the neighborhood college kids hip hip hoorayed me."
"But why would they?" Shinra asked.
"People in the other districts are strange." Elektra remarked, shaking her head.
On this, Shinra was inclined to agree.
"Do you remember the firefighter serial killer?" Mamoru asked.
"What?" Both Shinra and Elektra were confused.
"Well, he's still on trial…but there was a firefighter name Miyamato who killed four people for the fun of it. Since the murders, the people aren't too happy with firefighters or the Fire Defense Agency. Sometimes it turns into bullying."
"So? What happened to this firefighter?" Shinra asked.
"They're handing down his verdict today. Everyone says he'll probably be let off for insanity." Mamoru answered.
"That is wrong. In Nyuhebun, he would have received the death penalty and would have been sentenced to die the same death he dealt to his victims." Elektra remarked. "I would not want such a man out on the streets with children. Especially since half of Nyuhebun's people are children."
Shinra could see her point with that. She had grown up in a place where children were prized more than anything else and given priority even over the elderly and those in the chain of command. To know that there was a killer on the loose with a child around every corner? Shinra didn't like the idea either.
With that conversation at an end, Shinra, Elektra and Arthur found themselves roped into helping Mamoru to hand out balloons. People, especially children, found Elektra fascinating, stopping to stare and insisting they get a balloon from her and her alone. When Shinra questioned it, she gave them a smile and simply said, "I just have a way with children".
They were in the middle of this when a shiver suddenly coursed down Elektra's shine, causing the young woman to wrap her arms around herself. Shinra turned to her as she rubbed at her arms. "Something wrong?"
"There's an Infernal nearby." Elektra said it with utter confidence, as if she knew, without a doubt, that what she said was true.
"How do you know?" Shinra asked.
"I always get chills when one ignites nearby. I have since I was a child."
Shinra didn't have time to question this strange foreboding ability of hers when sirens reached their ears over the roar of the crowd. All three of them could recognize the sound from anywhere. It was a matchbox, and it was approaching fast.
"An Infernal is on the loose! Emergency vehicle coming through! Please clear a path!" came a voice over the loudspeaker.
"That's Lieutenant Hinawa's voice." Arthur remarked.
"Hey, what's up? Did we get a call?" Shinra asked.
"Apparently so. It must be the Infernal that caused my chill." Elektra replied before Hinawa's voice reached them once more.
"Shinra! Arthur! Elektra!" Elektra's back straightened when she heard her name yelled. "There you are! Wandering outside the cathedral without leave like a couple of idiots! You're in for some serious discipline when we get back! I'm going to work you so hard you won't be walking for a week afterward!"
"Well…I do believe he's mad." Elektra remarked simply.
"Yeah, I think we're in trouble. This is not time to be handing out balloons." Shinra agreed, Arthur chiming in with his own agreement. Shinra turned to hand the balloons back to Mamoru. "Sorry, Mamoru-kun! The rest is up to you! Later, Arthur, Elektra! I'll meet you there!"
When Shinra tried to take off into the air, Arthur grabbed his legs and climbed onto his back to ride him like a horse. Elektra blinked for a moment at the unusual sight before stifling a laugh. Sparks flew from her feet as she bent her knees and kicked off. A streak of blue lightning trailed behind her as she rocketed after her two coworkers. They quickly drew even with the matchbox, Hinawa starting at the three's sudden appearance alongside the speeding vehicle.
"Shira! Arthur! Elektra, too! What are you doing?! This is a public street!"
"N-never mind that. The Infernal…"
Leaving their use of their abilities in a public street, Hinawa hurried to answer Shinra. "The defendant in a murder trial went Infernal at the courthouse! He's attacking people! Just go straight to the scene! Saving their lives is our first priority!"
"I knew I felt an Infernal nearby." Elektra remarked, her eyes focused forward.
Instead of letting questioning begin, Shinra nodded to Hinawa. "Roger that! Keep up, Elektra!"
"Right behind you."
Shinra zipped off, rising up above the building tops, Elektra following as she sprang from building to building. They arrived at the courthouse just as the Infernal in question walked out of the building dragging a person by their teeth. Shinra just plowed forward, only coming to a stop when he slammed into the Infernal, causing Arthur to fly off his back.
"Don't stop without warning me." Arthur complained as he flipped over Shinra's head.
Elektra skidded to a halt beside Shinra as Arthur came to a stop beside the Infernal. She swore she heard the Infernal speak before Arthur slammed a fist into its face and again just before she hit it with an electrified kick. When next it tried to speak, all three were already on him, hitting him with another hit. The Infernal hit the ground rolling. When he came up, he didn't sound happy.
"Where'd you punks come from!?" he demanded.
Arthur was the first to speak. "Mamoru-kun was hip hip hoorayed to the top of a tree because of you!"
"Yeah…Huh?!" Shinra turned to look at Arthur. "That's his crimes? Not the murders?"
"I suppose everyone prioritizes things differently." Elektra said, though even she didn't look like she entirely agreed with Arthur's priorities.
"Oh, I get it." Elektra turned her attention back to the Infernal before them as he spoke once more. "You're from the Special Fire Force. That bunch of phonies that "saves the day" by murdering people. I wish I could do that. It's not fair."
Fair?
Elektra didn't understand. Those she had met among the Task Force back home and among the Fire Force didn't relish in their job. In fact, many of them were traumatized and run down by the work they did, but it was a job they did to help all of those involved. What wasn't fair was that people turned into Infernal to begin with. That he thought elsewise only made her sure that he was insane.
Just then, a woman called to them to save her, the Infernal turning on her. Elektra's muscles tensed to move, but maki showed up in time to turn the Infernal's fire into one of her Sputters. A Sputter that the Infernal just punched in the face, much to Maki's great horror. The rest of Company 8 showed up just behind Maki.
"What's with this guy? He hasn't lost his mind?!" Obi asked.
"If they have a strong enough will and attachment to life, they do maintain some of their attributes from when they were alive…but I've never seen a consciousness this well intact." Hinawa remarked.
"I have." All eyes briefly turned to Elektra, but she was fully focused on the Infernal, her expression serious.
An Infernal who suddenly threw his hands up. "Okay. I surrender."
"What!?" Shinra couldn't believe his ears and even Elektra was weary.
"If you're not a bunch of murders, then you'll let me go, right?" The Infernal grinned as he said this.
"You can't be serious!" The woman who had been nearly attacked rounded on the creature. "Do you have any idea how many people you've killed?!"
"Judge says I'm innocent. You can't kill me now. Can you?"
A part of the Infernal's head was blown away with a well-aimed fire of Hinawa's gun. In the next second, the creature was forced to his knees by Elektra. The Infernal looked up at the two as Hinawa approached with his gun still pointed at him.
"Unfortunately, I'm not such a good person that I can just forgive scum like you." Hinawa told him.
"And I am Slade. We don't work like that in Nyuhebun. Where I am from, people like you forfeit your rights and burn your crimes." Elektra added, a creepily calm smile on her face.
An outward explosion of fire forced Hinawa and Elektra away from the Infernal. "I always knew you were a bunch of murders!" With similar fire power to Shinra, the Infernal took to the sky. "And I don't like it! Stop acting like you're so righteous! You guys go around killing Infernals…well, I'm gonna go around killing humans!"
"Captain Obi!" Shinra turned to Obi for orders.
"After him! Shinra, you and Elektra are the only ones that can keep up with him." Obi ordered.
"But…he's…still himself." Shinra replied.
"He's not human anymore. I know how you feel, but…"
"Captain," Hinawa butted in, cutting Obi off. "Shinra…don't listen to what that Infernal says. Dispose of him. Got it? Then go!"
"Yes, sir!" Shinra replied, snapping to attention at the direct order.
"Come on, Shinra." Elektra called, already rocketing away.
Shinra followed, coming even with her as she bounced off the side of a building with a light tap of her feet and a spark of electricity. "How are you so clear headed?" He couldn't help but ask her the question, his thoughts being torn in different directions.
"You heard the lieutenant, Shinra. He's not human anymore. Besides, it's him or the countless innocents he'll slaughter fi we let him go. I picture the faces of my loved ones, my friends, and know I am protecting many like them from a fate I would fight hell and high water to keep them from. With that, I can live with myself even when I must put to rest an infernal who is more like a human, and even when it feels like I just punched myself in the heart. Think of those you will save and not the one you must kill. You'll be fine."
Shinra could see her point, but it still felt wrong to him. Elektra half turned to give him a reassuring smile. She could tell that he was fighting with himself. The first time she had met an infernal with this level of consciousness left to him, she had questioned if what the Task Force did was the right thing, too. She was forced to come to the realization that it was the right thing to do, because, in the end, the person was still suffering and was just hurting themselves and those around them.
"If I'm being honest," Shinra glanced at Elektra as she spoke again. "In this case, it does not cause me the least bit of grief to put this infernal to rest. He killed people, Shinra. Humans just going about their lives. He took their futures from them and took them from their families and loved ones. In my eyes, that alone makes him a monster, not a human. Let him return to his maker and receive the judgment he so rightfully deserves."
Another good point, he knew. If it came down to this murder or the innocent people he would brutalize and kill, he would kill this infernal. Maybe not with the same amount of confidence and conviction as Elektra, but he would do his job.
The both of them landed in front of the infernal just as he had been about to reach for a schoolboy. Whipping around, Shinra planted a kick right to the infernal's gut, sending him flying back into a car. Elektra winced as the metal crunched.
"You okay?" Shinra asked the boy.
"You need to run, get out of here so you don't get hurt." Elektra added.
"O-okay!" The boy took off, so not to be in the way.
The infernal popped up to his feet. "What's the big idea, interrupting my fun? Don't you know how many people I saved back in my firefighter days? So, what's wrong with killing a few of 'em in my infernal days?"
"You killed people in your firefighter days, too." Shinra pointed out.
"Don't you know how to do math, you idiot? That didn't even come close to the number I rescued, stupid." The infernal turned, sending a car flying towards a couple of people. "Now we can subtract two? Three?"
"Shinra!" Elektra called, already moving. She grabbed two of the people, moving them while Shinra stood between the car and the last person.
"You're despicable to the core." Shinra told the creature.
"How are you gonna catch that car?" The infernal asked with a laugh. "You gonna do something with those kicks you're so proud of? Huh? Are you? Go ahead and tr-" He cut off, leaning back to watch as Shinra sent the car flying with a single kick. "You're kidding…That car weighed at least a ton!"
In a flash of blue lightning, Elektra appeared over the car, sending it rocketing back down towards the infernal with a hop and tap of her to the bumper. The infernal barely moved in time to avoid being crushed. "Who are these kids?"
Elektra landed lightly on top of the destroyed car, Shinra joining her as she dusted off her clothes. "Glad I caught that."
"What are you?" Elektra and Shinra turned to peer down at the infernal, one of Shinra's wide grins on his face. "You're…you're devils!"
"No. I'm a hero." Shinra replied.
"I've never been called a devil before." Elektra remarked. "I've heard many names, but not devil. Witch, yes. God's Finger is another, but never devil. Anyway, we should end this before we cause more collateral damage. Shinra?"
Shinra hopped down from the car, already reciting the prayer Sister Iris said before they put an infernal to rest.
"No…stop! What a minute!" the infernal pleaded.
"Our sister's not here to pray for you, but this is as good as you deserve." Shinra replied, continuing the prayer.
"Okay, so maybe I'm an infernal, but I still think like a human being." The creature tried to reason.
"That's subjective." Elektra retorted, hand on her hips.
"The point is my body burns like hell, but I'm putting up with it! You get it, right? I'm still scared to die. The least you could do is let a holy woman offer a prayer for my soul before you off me…right?"
"Personally, I don't believe in prayers to Sol." Elektra told him, her posture and expression making it clear that she thought they should finish it then. "I think- "
"Fine."
Elektra whipped around to look at Shinra, her back now to the infernal as she hopped down from the car. "Shinra!"
"It's fine. I think Sister Iris and the others are on their way. He can just sit there and repent until they get here.
"Yeah. I'll do that." The infernal agreed.
"It sounds like a bad idea to me." Elektra remarked, but she simply turned away, arms crossed.
With their backs turned, the infernal took his chance to get to his feet. "But boy, mister, miss, you're strong. So, you're one of them Third Generation Fire Soldiers, eh? When I'm born again, I hope I can be like you."
Elektra turned then, finding the infernal reaching for Shinra's back. "Shinra!"
Shinra whipped around, one fiery kick completely removing the infernal's left arm. In the next second, Elektra slammed into him, knocking him off his feet. She landed on his back, pinning him in place. Electricity crackled threateningly around the infernal's head, keeping him from doing anything drastic to free himself from Elektra.
"There is no hope for your soul, is there?" Shinra asked as he approached the two.
"Damn it all! You're just kids! Why should I have to-!? Hero my ass! What's the point in helping people anyway!?" the infernal yelled, fighting Elektra's hold.
"Shut up! I've heard enough out of you! I'm putting you to rest!"
Elektra perked up then where there was a sizzle through the air. She was certain that the heat she could feel replacing the chills that had been dancing over her skin since Miyamoto went infernal didn't belong to her, Shinra or the Infernal. She got her answer as to who when a woman dropped between her and the infernal and Shinra.
"Blue strips…a Fire Soldier?!" Shinra exclaimed in surprise.
Snapping open a hand fan that was tipped in flames, the woman straightened. "I am Captain of Special Fire Force Company 5, Princess Hibana. Company 5 will take care of the infernal."
"Company 5? But aren't we still on Company 8's turf?" Elektra asked, confused.
"She's right! Stop! He belongs to Company 8! We're gonna put him to rest!" Shinra yelled, hurrying towards them. Elektra, he knew, didn't know it, but Company 5 was run by Haijima Industries and were against their goals. "You can't just come in here and take over like that!"
"I am a captain. Do you intend to defy me?" Hibana asked.
"You're not our captain!" Shinra shot back. "Elektra, don't let her have him!"
Elektra didn't understand. All she knew was she looked up to find Company 5 Fire Soldiers closing in on her with Shinra looking frantic. Being not of the Empire and only loyal to those in Company 8 and the ones they declared allies, Elektra chose to trust Shinra. The Fire Soldiers jumped back when a bubble of blue electricity flashed to life around Elektra and the infernal. Hibana turned to look at her over her shoulder, but quickly refocused on Shinra.
"Shinra!" When Shinra suddenly slumped to the ground, Elektra jolted in shock. He was quickly surrounded by three identical looking women in skintight uniforms and ridiculously high heels.
"Restrain him." Hibana ordered.
"Dammit…what did you do to me?" Shinra demanded.
"A Company 8 flunky…you're nothing but a piece of gravel. So be a good little gravel, and gravel on the road where I can walk on you. Crunch, crunch, crunch – I've had enough of your gravely sniveling. The only time I want to hear your crunching is when you're crunching under my feet, gravel." Hibana snapped.
"Gravel?" Elektra had met a lot of strange people in her nineteen years of life, but Hibana was definitely unique among them. Hibana took her level of uniqueness to a whole new level when she slammed her heeled shoe down in front of Shinra's face.
"Lick it." Hibana ordered.
Shinra took a deep breath. "As a Second Class Fire Soldier, it was rude of me to speak to you like that, Captain. I apologize. But don't you think your company's tactics are a little heavy-handed?"
"I said, lick it." Hibana repeated.
"Hey, I'm trying to be serious here!" Shinra snapped before realizing that he could see up Hibana's skirt.
The face he made had Hibana wincing and shifting back away from him. Elektra shock her head. "And that is why I don't wear skirts with this job." She had learned her lesson years ago and now had a permanent reminder of the lesson.
"Don't be mean to him!" All attention turned to the very same boy that Shinra and Elektra had saved from the infernal. "He saved me!"
One of the Company 5 Fire Soldiers shoved the boy over. "Get out of my way."
"Hey! Fire Soldiers are supposed to protect the people! What is wrong with Company 5 people?!" Shinra demanded.
"It's just one little brat falling on his butt." One of the identical women told him. "It's not like we burned him."
That was all Shinra needed to snap. In an outward wave of fire, he knocked the women back and regained his feet. "Are you freakin' kidding me?! You never talk about burning a kid, even as a joke! I'll teach you what it really means to be a Fire Soldier. Bring it on, Company 5! I'm Shinra Kusakabe, Second Class Fire Solider from Company 8. And I'm calling you out!"
Elektra had been quiet through this all, her face unreadable from within her electric bubble. She didn't seem the least bit upset and was calmly taking stock of the situation at hand. At least one of them was keeping their heads.
"Shinra," Shinra turned to look at her and was confronted with a calm shake of her head. She was silently telling him not to challenge Hibana and her soldiers.
"But Elektra…!" Shinra cut off as a matchbox came to a screeching halt next to him. Out of it came Obi and Hinawa.
"Shinra! Elektra!" Obi paused when he was confronted by the situation before him. "Company 5? What are you doing here?"
"It's not every day we see an infernal as self-aware as this one. It would be a shame to dispose of him. Company 5 is taking him into custody, so if you will tell your soldier there to dispel the fireworks." Hibana replied, gesturing to Elektra who was still perched on the back of the infernal within her bubble.
"Don't you think you're overstepping some boundaries here?" Obi asked.
"The moment he went infernal, he was legally dead. Extinguishing him would return his body to the ashes. In which case, I don't see a problem with taking that body into custody instead, do you? Besides," Hibana smiled, the action not reaching her eyes. "You're a new company. I've heard you don't have a science team yet. It's such an unusual specimen…if we want to get closer to solving the mystery of spontaneous human combustion, don't you think you should let my company take it in for analysis?"
"And I assume you'll share the results of this analysis with us?" Obi demanded.
"But of course!" Hibana replied.
Elektra had a feeling that was a lie. From what she had been told when she had taken the job to join Company 8, the other companies weren't sharing info. Form the look on Obi's face, he knew it, but he still turned towards Elektra. "It's alright, Elektra. We'll let Company 5 take care of this."
"If you're sure, sir." The electricity died off and Elektra let the Company 5 soldiers take the infernal from her. "I don't like it, though. Legally dead or not, murder or not, this is highly disrespectful."
Obi could agree, but it was best to avoid a fight they didn't need to have. One of Company 5's soldiers, a rookie named Toru Kishiri, couldn't leave it at that.
"What a loser." Arthur and Shinra zeroed in on Toru. "Company 8 Captain, ha. He's just a non-powered grunt. Major Loserville."
Maki and Elektra jumped forward when Shinra and Arthur grabbed Toru, Shinra snapping at him. "Do you have any idea how brave you have to be to dive into a sea of flames when you don't have any heat resistance?!"
"Course I don't! I'm a Third Generation!" Toru replied.
With the help of Hinawa, Maki and Elektra were able to pull Shinra and Arthur off Toru, Shinra declaring, "I'm going to kick your ass one day, just you wait!"
"Go ahead and try, grunty. Little gruntling under Captain Grunt of Grunts 8." Toru taunted.
Hinawa shoved Shinra and Arthur towards the matchbox. Maki, however, turned to Toru, politely calling to him. When he turned to face her, she landed a twisting punch to his gut that reduced him to a slobbering mess on the ground.
"Are you alright?" Toru looked up to find Elektra bent over him, a concerned look on her scarred face. "Here, let me help." Elektra offered him a hand up. Toru took it, believing she was just stupidly kind. Elektra grasped his hand and pulled him to his feet. "I'm so sorry. Allow me to apologize for Maki."
"It's alri – "
"She should have hit harder. I'll correct that now." A smile, so sweet and kind, spread across her face just before she unleashed an electrical current through their gripped hands. Toru felt like his brain had been fried by the time he crumpled back to the ground. "Oh, dear! I do believe he fainted. You should tell your soldiers to mind their health."
Elektra left Toru with one of his comrades and rejoined her own. Shinra, Arthur, Maki, and Hinawa eyes her, but all she did was give them a wide smile and a simple shrug of her shoulders.
"What?" Elektra bat innocent eyes at them. "I like Captain Obi. I might be laid back, but even I don't let people insult those I like."
When the five turned to find Obi standing there with his arms crossed and Sister Iris at his side, they waited to be scolded. "I don't even know what to say to you guys…Thanks!" Obi gave them a wink.
"Listen, Obi," They turned to find Hibana standing there, hands on her hips. "If the little firefighter keeps sticking his nose where it doesn't belong then he will be extinguished instead of the fire."
"I see, so you're saying I'm smoke in some people's nostrils, but you can't put Company 8's flame out that easily." Obi replied.
"If I may, Captain," Hibana turned to Elektra when she spoke. "We Slade have a saying…Beware the hobby that eats."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Hibana asked.
"You should air on the side of caution when you threaten people. You never know when it might come back to bite you in the rear, Captain." Elektra gave Hibana a smile that made the older woman wonder if she had been offering an honest warning or just saying it with no malice.
Obi didn't leave her time to question it, ushering Elektra away. Elektra glanced over her shoulder, watching as Company 5 rolled out themselves, Obi glanced down at her. "What did you think of your first day, Elektra?"
"If this is what I have to look forward to then I won't miss my Task Force duties, that's for sure. That being said, Captain…I have a bad feeling about this Company 5."
"Yeah, I do, too. We'll let them have their way…today. It won't happen again." Obi assured her.
If that was the case, Elektra was sure her life was going to be a busy one. Busy and lively.
END
Author's Note: Starting in the next chapter, I will start with my usual character interactions. I hope you all enjoyed and will review and I will be back with a new chapter as soon as I can. Bye!
