Kyandi: Welcome back, everyone! As I promised, starting this chapter I will be starting with my character interactions. So, meet my OC, Elektra Casteel.
Elektra: Hello!
Kyandi: Elektra is one of my favorite characters to date.
Elektra: Aw, thank you!
Kyandi: You're welcome! There's one big reason for that.
Elektra: Asuka?
Kyandi: Asuka.
Elektra: That's a very good reason, but one we cannot share yet, correct?
Kyandi: Correct! Of course, our dear readers can make their guesses, but I will not answer until the time comes.
Elektra: So, if you want to know, keep reading.
Kyandi: Right! So, everyone please enjoy and review.
Elektra: Kyandi-sama does not own Fire Force.
Chapter 2 Bump in the Night
The next day, Obi called a meeting with the other members of Company 8. When they arrived in the office, they found Obi in a state of balancing weights. Elektra's head tilted to the side, eyebrow raising. She had seen circus performers before, but none of them had accomplished the kind of balancing act that Obi was managing at that very moment.
"After that brouhaha yesterday, I don't think I need to tell you that we can't trust Company 5. We're going to investigate, and it could mean war." Obi told them.
"Captain Obi…I think you've moved beyond body building and into something else resembling body building." Shinra told him.
"I'm more intrigued by the lieutenant's hat." Elektra whispered lowly as Hinawa took over Obi's explanation.
"First and foremost, our job is to put the infernals to rest and ensure public safety." Hinawa started but all Shinra and Elektra could see was his hat which read, "Setsuko-san in the wall" across it. "However, we must always keep in mind Company 8's secret mission – to investigate the shadier Fire Force companies and come up with ways to fight them."
Arthur during this time was too busy staring at a bird out the window. "Confound you, gryphon, assaulting my castle yet again! One day, you will be rust on Excalibur's blade."
"You really are stupid, aren't you?" Shinra asked.
"At least he's happy in his delusional world. There are many who suffer in their delusions." Elektra said, smile on her face. "Let him exercise his imagination. He's like a little kid."
"Don't encourage him, Elektra. If he actually vanquishes that adorable gryphon, they'll take him in for breaking wildlife protection laws." Maki scolded.
"Look who's talking. You're pretty dangerous yourself, Maki-san." Shinra retorted, making Maki frown.
"Don't worry, Maki-san," Iris spoke up from behind them. "Ninety percent of any given day, you're beautiful and amazing. It's too bad about that other ten percent, though."
"Too bad?" Maki repeated, Elektra stifling a laugh.
"This company's full of weirdos. You're my only refuge, Sister Iris." Shinra remarked.
"Wait…then you consider me a weirdo?" Elektra blinked in confusion, trying to figure out what she had done to earn herself that title. The grin that overtook Shinra's uneasy face when Iris dusted something from his hair, had Arthur claiming him as the oddest of them all.
"Hey, people. This is an important meeting. Cut the chit-chat." Hinawa ordered, holding up a gun that he pointed at Shinra.
"Lieutenant! You really shouldn't point those at people, even if you're joking!" Shinra exclaimed, hands held out before him.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Hinawa asked before firing one off right into Shinra's leg.
Shinra hit the floor with a yell, Iris rushing over to him, but all Shinra had was a small scuff mark to show where he had been hit.
"It hurt pretty bad…but I'm fine. Why!? Is that an air gun?" Shinra asked.
"Lieutenant Hinawa is a Second Generation, like me." Maki explained. "He can't ignite his own fires, but he can control flames. When he shot you, he dulled the gunpowder's explosion, and lowered the bullet's lethality."
"Unlike infernals, when you're up against Second and Third Gens…you never know what they're going to pull!" Hinawa added, shooting Shinra again. "And we're going to be seeing a lot of them."
"I know it's not lethal, but you're scaring the crap out of me, sir!" Shinra complained.
"You're especially stupid, Arthur. Get your act together." Hinawa ordered.
"Heh. I am a man who slays dragons." Arthur declared.
"You'll have to find a dragon first." Shinra retorted.
"You know, I take it back…he might be a little too delusional." Elektra remarked.
Shinra gave her a look that screamed, "You think!?". Hinawa draped an arm over both Arthur and Shinra's shoulders then. "Come with me to the roof…I'm going to drill you into the floor." Elektra had to fight to contain a laugh because Hinawa's statement sounded so wrong to her ears. "Elektra, you come, too. Your file says you came from a military background."
"Yes, sir. My father was a colonel in the military, my mother a military engineer. I actually grew up on the military base we used to have in Nyuhebun. Well…that is, until it burned down ten years ago." Elektra replied, a hand unconsciously going to the left side of her face.
"That was how you were burned." Shinra stated, Elektra nodding.
"Don't you have heat resistance?" Arthur asked.
"Heat resistance only goes so far to protect you from the flames of two infernals." Elektra told him.
"Two?" Maki gasped.
"That's right…my parents." Silence fell over them all as Elektra admitted that with a sad smile. "It was an odd incident. That night, about a third of the base's inhabitants went infernal, my parents included. I remember waking up in the night of the night to the base's fire alarms blaring and to the heat that surrounded me. I remember the sight of my parents as the fire consumed them and of the odd, horned state my father took. I never imagined that kind of thing happening to my father. He was a strong man. Sadly, I was the only survivor from the flames that consumed the base, and even that was a close call. It was how I came to be in the care of the Slade. Even though I was severely burned, and most doctors were sure I would die within days, if not hours, they nursed me back to health and took me in."
For a moment, no one could talk, every one of them feeling a kinship to what she had gone through as a child. It was Maki that spoke, stepping up beside Elektra to lay a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry."
"Why?" Elektra gave her a smile, her hand dropping from her face. "I wasn't your fault. I'm of the mindset that everything happens for a reason. From pain to purpose, is what my mother use to say. While I miss my parents, more with each day that passes, the Slade women who raised me are my family now and I knew my parents wouldn't want me to dwell in sadness when I have been given a chance to have a future. As for my scars…" Elektra looked down at her scarred left arm. "Well, it's a good way to know if someone truly likes me for me, you know? Besides, they aren't the only scars I have and probably won't be the last I get. Life's too short to dwell on what you can't change. Enjoy life today, yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come."
Elektra gave them a bright smile. She honestly didn't seem that upset, even when the memories still made her sad. Then again, after ten years, she had probably come to terms with what had happened. Her determination to live her life without looking back was admirable, to say the least. Seeing that she had said her piece and was done with the conversation, Hinawa ushered them to the roof.
There, he put Shinra, Arthur, and Elektra through their paces. While Arthur and Shinra were sweating by the end of push-ups, Elektra, used to a lot of heavy lifting, blew through it with ease. After that, Hinawa moved them into sparring, matching Arthur against Maki. Shinra and Elektra stood to the side with Hinawa, watching. Still thinking about yesterday, Shinra suddenly spoke.
"I don't care if they were joking, I'm not gonna stand by and let Company 5 talk about burning children! Who is this Captain Princess, anyway?" Shinra asked.
"Third Generation Fire Soldier Princess Hibana. She appeared out of nowhere as a recruit from Haijima and climbed her way up through the ranks. There are a lot of questions surrounding that woman." Hinawa replied. "But according to what we've found, she got her current position by researching the infernals illegally and selling off pieces of the data."
"Talk about rewarding bad behavior." Elektra remarked.
"At the very least, she knows something big enough to turn a nobody into a captain overnight." Hinawa replied. "And we're going to do everything we can to get our hands on it…we'll storm the base if we have to! Your feet, Shinra, Arthur's plasma and Elektra's electricity should come in handy."
"If it's computer data, trust me…you don't want me anywhere near it. I fry electronics for obvious reasons." Elektra told him, wiggling her fingers to let electricity dance between them.
"I don't even care about the data…I just wanna crush Company 5." Shinra declared.
"Watch yourself, Shinra. An eye for eye leads only to blindness." Elektra warned him.
"I'll keep that in mind. Do you have a proverb for everything?" Shinra turned to look at Elektra.
"The woman that raised me, Tante Leigh, is a wise woman who has seen many battles and raised many children." Elektra smiled fondly. "She had a proverb for every life lesson I could encounter. If I can pass them on, then it is the least I can do to repay her for her love and care. Even if that love was of the tough and stern type."
"So, she adopted you?" Shinra asked.
"Yes. Along with various others. There are many women among the Slade whose sole purpose is to raise the next generation and to care for those who have no one. They spend most of their lives caring for the orphans that end up in Nyuhebun. Tante Leigh started when she was your age, Shinra."
"Really!? I couldn't imagine doing anything with kids that long." Shinra remarked.
"Only because that's not your purpose. Everyone is good at different things. Raising children just happens to be hers."
"And yours?" Hinawa asked.
"I am still finding my path. Many have various talents and paths. I must traverse them in order to find what I'm meant to do, meant to be. For now, Company 8's goal is my purpose. I'll do my job for the sake of my family." Elektra replied.
Shinra wished he could be as sure as Elektra seemed to be about everything. She seemed to simply just go with whatever she felt was right and didn't care about other people's opinions of it. To have that kind of confidence and incorruptible determination was a little frightening, but it was nice to know that it was on their side instead of against them. Still…looking at Elektra as she stood tall and sure, Shinra couldn't imagine that her life had ever been easy. After all, all wisdom came from adversity.
She had obviously seen more than her fair share.
While Hinawa and Elektra continued to watch Arthur spar with Maki, Shinra went to retrieve something from the courtyard. Elektra giggled as she watched Maki lay poor Arthur out and turn towards them. "Your turn, Shinra."
"Shinra went to the courtyard. Apparently, he left something there." Hinawa told her.
"What? But Sister Iris is doing an ablution in the courtyard." Maki replied.
"What's an ablution?" Elektra asked curiously.
"It's a ceremonial washing of the body. Sister Iris does hers in the courtyard." Maki explained.
"Oh, my…That's not good. I'll go grab him then. Before he can see anything to shame the poor Sister." Elektra offered.
Elektra took off, a little extra spark to her step. She found Shinra at the doorway to the courtyard as Iris was walking away, robe pulled tight around her shoulders. Catching the look on Shinra's face, Elektra's bright green gaze flickered between the two, wondering what could have happen to cause the expression on Shinra's face at that very moment. Curious, she leaned to the side to look up at Shinra.
"Is everything alright?"
"I don't know." Shinra replied.
Elektra had only to look at Shinra to know he sensed something wrong but wasn't willing to talk about it. Reaching out, she placed a hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention to her. Elektra gave him a smile he knew was true and honest.
"I might be new here, but just remember…I'm always here if you need to talk. I have a younger foster brother close to your age, so I like to think I can help somewhat. If not, I'm a very good listener." She assured him, giving his shoulder a squeeze.
The sentiment alone was almost enough to put a real smile on his face. "Thanks, Elektra."
"No problem, really. Now, come on. Let's get back to our training before the lieutenant blows his top."
Shinra nodded, thought he was still concerned about Iris. Had something happened between the nun and Company 5? Was that why he could have sworn he saw tears in Iris's eyes when he had accidentally walked in on her?
The events of that night would give him the answers to his questions.
That night, Elektra was awoken from her sleep by Maki because Iris was missing from her bed. Shinra flew out the door, fairly sure he knew where to find the nun. Elektra, being the only one fast enough to keep up with him, followed him out the door, only pausing long enough to grab the coat of her gear. Obi called a protest as Elektra flew out the door with only a tube top and shorts under that, but Elektra didn't even pause like she had heard him speak. She didn't care.
Shinra, with little care, went rocketing right into the middle of Company 5's courtyard, Elektra landing lightly on the wall that ringed the compound. It was from there that she watched her company's matchbox drive right through the hole Arthur cut into the wall. Hinawa tore through the courtyard towards Shinra.
"Dear me…Lieutenant Hinawa doesn't seem too happy. I would hate to be Company 5 at the moment." Elektra remarked to herself. "I best join them before he can turn that displeasure on me as well."
Elektra bounced from her perch, landing beside Hinawa. In front of her, Company 5 grunts blocked their way inside. Hinawa only seemed even more annoyed with this. "Shinra, use those feet of yours to find Sister Iris! Maki and I will take care of things here."
"Just the two of you? Against all of them?!" Shinra exclaimed in shock.
"It'll be easier for us out here as soon as you start tearing things up inside. Go!" Hinawa ordered.
Shinra nodded. "Yes, sir!"
Elektra watched as Shinra took off, quickly making his way past those in front of them. When the soldiers tried to follow, Hinawa pulled his guns. "Don't think you can run from my discipline."
Elektra winced as Hinawa started firing, the men scrambling to take cover, though that didn't really help them much. "It almost seems as if you're enjoying this, Lieutenant."
"Guns are meant to be pointed at people." Hinawa replied.
"Sadly, I can't deny that." Elektra sighed as Hinawa mercilessly shot another grunt even once he was close. "Still, I think you might take that to a bit of an extreme. I am glad we are on the same side."
"Not that this is anything new, but sometimes I think you show more mercy to the infernals than to regular people, Lieutenant." Maki remarked, Elektra agreeing.
"That's because I didn't join the Special Fire Force – I joined Captain Obi. I came to Company 8 because there are idiots in the government who won't listen to reason, and I wanted to knock some heads. You start knocking heads, too, Maki. And you, too, Elektra. We'll knock their heads until the location of the SHC data falls out." Hinawa told them.
"I left the military against my father's wishes because I would rather save people then fight them. That's why I joined the Fire Force…so I'm not too keen on man-to-man combat." Maki protested.
"But you hit that Company 5 rookie, didn't you?" Hinawa reminded her.
"I didn't hit him, it was just a tap." Maki retorted.
A laugh left Elektra. "A tap? My sweet friend, if that was a tap then I'm a monkey's uncle. You laid him flat."
"And what of you!? You fried his brain!" Maki pointed out.
"Yes, but I have no qualms with man-to-man combat, like you. There are more enemies to mankind than just infernals and SHC. Sometimes, man is mankind's worst enemies." Elektra replied, Hinawa agreeing with her as he turned to Arthur.
"Arthur! Go after Shinra."
"You be careful, Lieutenant!" Arthur called as he took off to do just that.
Elektra was looking around, trying to decide what to do next when she heard Hinawa's voice from behind her. "What the…?"
Elektra turned, already on guard when Maki dashed past her, calling a warning. "Lieutenant! Get down!" Maki got in front of Hinawa as a bubble came floating towards Hinawa and suddenly popped, Maki trying to redirect the fiery explosion that resulted from it. In the next instance, Maki slammed into Elektra, knocking her back into Hinawa. The three ended up on the ground, Maki in Elektra's lap and Elektra in Hinawa's.
"All that from one little bubble? Color me impressed." Elektra remarked, blinking in shock.
"That was some impressive fire power alright." Hinawa agreed, Maki nodding.
Hinawa helped the two women to their feet as another bubble came floating towards them. "Here comes another one."
"Take cover, sir! You, too, Elektra! I'll handle this!" Maki declared as the bubble popped.
Elektra braced herself this time, the flats of her arms pressed into Maki's shoulder blades to keep her from being blown off her feet once more. The two women slid a few feet when the bubble exploded in their face, but the remained on their feet.
"You okay?" Hinawa called.
Elektra gave him a thumbs up before she spotted more bubbles drifting their way. "Sir, we should run, find cover. More are coming!"
The three dived for cover, maki and Elektra peeking around the edges of their hiding spot while Hinawa crouched between them. Elektra carefully leaned forward, her eyes quickly scanning the open ground behind their cover, trying to find where the bubbles were drifting from. From what she could see from her position, they were coming from a storage room, but she was at an angel where she couldn't see inside.
"Maki, Elektra! Where are the attacks coming from?" Hinawa asked.
"Inside a storage room, sir, but I can't see inside from this position to tell you more." Elektra answered.
"It looks like it's possibly coming from the back." Maki added.
"That's all I need to know." Elektra hissed in sympathy as Hinawa fired his guns, manipulating the bullets' ricochet to target the bubbles' user. With a grunt sounding from the storage room, she knew Hinawa had found his target. Enemies or not, Elektra couldn't feel anything but sorry for the poor soul.
"Truly fearsome, Lieutenant." Elektra told him as they deemed the coast clear.
"No, they're just pathetic…it would take a lot more than this to get Company 8 rookies to admit defeat." Hinawa replied. "I'm gonna get one of these soldiers to cough up the location of the data."
Elektra moved to follow him when the three women known as the 5th Angels Three showed up to stop them. Elektra took a look at them and heaved a sigh. "Why do I get the feeling that this is going to become tedious?"
And she was proven correct. As the 5th Angels Three turned out to be more along the lines of ten women, Elektra got to show off her electrobatics, her form of martial arts that combined her thermoelectric powers, natural flexibility and acrobatics, and her combative skills. It had her bouncing off the walls and flipping over the heads of the women to land electrified attacks to their blind spots.
Hinawa and Maki soon found out that Elektra could twist her body in just about anyway, the added spark of her electricity giving her a boost to her punches and kicks that rivaled that of a high-grade taser. Without them having to lift a finger, Elektra dealt with the women, moving quickly and with the ease of many years spent in practice. When the last one was on the ground, Elektra stretched out her arms over her head, twisting until a series of pops crackled up her spine.
"That was a good work out, but wasn't there only supposed to be three of them?" Elektra asked.
"Well, you just took out about ten." Maki replied.
"There can't be anymore, can there?" Hinawa checked their surroundings, looking for anymore that could possibly be in hiding.
"I hope not. That was a little annoying, even for me." Elektra said with a sigh.
"I just hope Shinra, and Arthur are doing okay." Maki remarked.
"Elektra, go after them. While Shinra's running around, Maki and I will find that research material. Wreck a few things while you're at it, but don't fry their computers." Hinawa ordered.
"No computers, just brains, got it!" Elektra gave him a salute and was gone in a flash of blue and white, leaving only white spots in her comrades' vision. Elektra went rocketing through the compound, pouncing on a few soldiers, here and there, taking out search lights and leaving a few holes in walls along the way. She would be lying if she said she didn't have a little too much fun with it, but it was all under orders.
When she finally found Arthur, he was in the middle of a fight with the infernal that Company 5 had taken from them. She perched herself on a nearby rooftop to watch, and couldn't help a laugh when Arthur, after taking a beating, finally realized that he had been holding his sword in the wrong hand. Dropping her chin into an awaiting hand, Elektra gave her head a shake. "Leave it to Arthur."
When Arthur put the infernal to rest, clapping sounded through the night air, drawing Arthur's attention up to the roof where Elektra sat, giving Conehead a chance to get away.
"Brava, Sir Knight. Well done!" Elektra cheered, smiling widely down on him. Smiling because she was playing into his delusion, Arthur bowed to her. "Now come, Sir Knight. We must meet with the others."
By the time Elektra and Arthur met up with the others of their company, Shinra had already rescued Iris and defeated Hibana. With her defeat, Hibana had agreed to cooperate with Company 8, and Obi, with the help of higher-ups, had set up the whole raid on Company 5 to look like a joint, nighttime training. To help the charade seem real to the soldiers of Company 5, they held a cookout between the two companies. It made Elektra laugh to see how quickly it had gone from a war between the two factions to a friendly dinner.
That light atmosphere was ruined though when Hibana let them in on the truth behind spontaneous human combustion…someone was intentionally causing the transformation into infernals.
It sent a chill down Elektra's spine, knowing that a person was responsible for it. To make things more difficult, all those artificially created infernals had been appearing in the same place, over and over.
Shinjuku in Company 1's district.
With Nyuhebun caught between Company 1 and Company 8 and another fight possibly looming in the distance, it made Elektra worry for the people of her beloved district. She would do anything to protect them, even if that meant putting herself at risk. She had too much to lose in her home. If that meant challenging the biggest and strongest company in the Fire Force, then she would do so. She thought about her loved ones back home and knew she couldn't back down.
Besides, it was her job after all.
End
Kyandi: You get a little too much amusement out of Arthur and his delusions.
Elektra: It's not hurting anyone. He still does his job and functions. There are many who can't.
Kyandi: You have a point, but I still think he needs a reality check.
Elektra: Why? He's happy, he's not hurting anyone, and he manages just fine. Let him live in his delusions, I say.
Kyandi: Until the day he finally annoys you with it.
Elektra: Yes, but we both know that that is a long day coming.
Kyandi: Again, you have a point. Anyway, everyone enjoy and review. I'll be updating this story and one new one until I can recover the chapters I lost on my other works when my last laptop died on me.
Elektra: We'll be back as soon as possible.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!