Kyandi: Hey, hey, everyone!
Elektra: She's having fun.
Kyandi: Indeed I am. I'm getting close to introducing another new character and story that I've been looking forward to.
Elektra: I'm not enough?
Kyandi: You are, but I like juggling many projects.
Elektra: If you say so.
Kyandi: Anyway, everyone enjoy and review! Let me know what you think of Elektra and her plot so far.
Elektra: Kyandi-sama does not own Fire Force.
Chapter 4 The Star That Fell
"I am not wearing that."
Five days.
Five days had passed since her arrival at Company 1, and, just like every day before, Tamaki, one of the nuns-in-training, had showed up at Elektra's room first thing in the morning, trying to get the Slade woman to trade her Slade garments for one of Company 1's habits. Each day, she arrived with one of the spare outfits in Elektra's size.
Like every day before, Elektra completely shot the girl down.
"This is official wear in Company 1!" Tamaki insisted, puffing up.
"I'm not from Company 1, or even the Fire Force companies. I'm Slade, sweet girl. I wear what I want, when I want. I am certainly no nun and will not disgrace them by frolicking around in a habit. Your captain understands this and has accused me to wear my Slade clothes. To top it off…they don't make the boys wear priests robes." Tamaki was at a loss for words, giving Elektra the chance to usher her out the door. "Now, thank you for the concern, but I have to prepare for the day."
As soon as the door closed, Elektra heaved a sigh. She knew Tamaki meant well, but there was no way the girl was ever going to get her into a habit. Needing some fresh, morning air, Elektra walked across her otherwise empty room. Pushing the window open, she blinked as she was greeted with the sight of Hinawa standing outside the window.
"Oh! Lieutenant, good morning!" Elektra greeted.
After the first two days of Hinawa showing up first thing in the morning and realizing that no one in Company 1 minded, Elektra had simply accepted it. Shinra, on the other hand, got embarrassed and a little irritated. She could understand it, but she personally didn't care a bit. She knew Hinawa had his reasons, and it wasn't like it was hurting her or her cover.
"How are you holding up?" Hinawa asked.
Elektra leaned against the windowsill. "Fine. I'd be better if one of the Company 1 rookies would stop trying to put me in a habit. I'm keeping a close eye on Shinra and Arthur, and, thankfully, they haven't been fighting here."
"Good. And your assignment?"
Elektra knew he was asking about their secret investigation on Company 1. "We haven't even been on a single call yet. It's been relatively quiet here. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It kind of feels like the calm before the storm, you know? I haven't gotten a single chill and it makes me uneasy."
Hinawa nodded in understanding. "You should call the captain sometime. He worries."
"Of course, he does." Elektra smiled fondly. "I'll do that. Don't worry so much, Lieutenant. I promise, I have my eyes on everything."
"Good. Now…tell me more about this ignition ability of yours…Mock Infernal?"
Elektra nodded. "I've told you everything I know, Lieutenant. All I know is that this is how I am, and it has only been since the night my parents went infernal. I don't know why I'm like this, or what about me is different, if there is anything. For all I know, it could just be a fluke. We don't have scientists in Nyuhebun to research this kind of thing. Tante Leigh wasn't about to let some Imperial scientists take me."
Hinawa thought about this, his expression distant for a moment before he looked back at her. "You can control it?"
"Yes. It took me a while after I healed to successfully shift back and forth, but I have never lost control of the flames."
Hinawa's eyes turned back to Elektra's face, finding her staring off to the side, her smile gone. It didn't take a genius to realize that something was wrong. "What is it?"
Elektra's green gaze turned back to him. "This won't get me kicked out of Company 8, will it?"
Hinawa blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected her to be concerned about something like that. In the time he had known Elektra, short as it might be, he hadn't known her to be anything but sure and confident. "No, it won't. But why wasn't it in your file?"
"Would you and Captain Obi have accepted me if it was?"
If he was being honest…they might not have.
As helpful as Elektra was, as nice as it was to have her on the team, if they had seen that in her file first before actually getting to know her, they might have turned down the offer of having her in Company 8. In the light of that understanding, he now knew why her file had been so light, so empty. It wasn't because she was a new member of the Task Force, but because they had intentionally removed some of the information before sending it over to Company 8.
Hinawa heaved a sigh. "I see your point. You're position in Company 8 is secure. That said, do you have anything else that is missing from your file that I should know?"
Elektra thought for a moment. "Well…I have three main abilities. My thermoelectric abilities, Mock Infernal, and one more way in which I can use my flames."
"Which is?"
Not wanting to be overheard, Elektra leaned out the window and gestured him closer. Hinawa lent her an ear, Elektra whispering something into it. His eyes grew wider as she spoke, surprised by what she told him. When he pulled back, it looked up at her.
"But that makes you…!"
Elektra's finger flew to her lips. "Please don't say it out loud, Lieutenant. That one is an ace in the hole that I do not want possible enemies to find out. You can't deny that it'll come in handy."
Hinawa nodded and Elektra eased herself back into her room. "We'll talk more about this with the captain when you get back."
Elektra gave him a nod. "Yes, sir. Goodbye, Lieutenant."
Elektra put a smile back on her face and waved as Hinawa left. When he was gone, she gave a shake of her head. He acted all big and bad, but the man truly had a soft heart for his comrades. It made her happy she had joined Company 8. All of the members of the company made her feel that way. It was a temporary home that she was happy to have found.
With a bright smile on her face, Elektra returned to preparing for the morning. When she was done, she headed over to Shinra and Arthur's room. She found all four boys awake.
"Morning," she greeted as Shinra allowed her into the room.
"The Lieutenant visit you, too?" Shinra asked.
"Of course. He's only worried about us. You should humor him more." Elektra told him.
Shinra scoffed. "Yeah, well it's embarrassing." Elektra chuckled lightly at that, Shinra reclaiming his seat on the foot of his bed. Elektra leaned against the wall. "Hey, I just realized Company 1's beds aren't buck beds."
"They're like this at Company 5, too. No one uses bunkbeds anymore. If there's an emergency, someone might fall and get hurt." Toru explained. "Your company is so lame."
"We just don't have any soldiers clumsy enough to get hurt." Shinra argued.
"Of course, you fall all the time." Arthur pointed out.
"And you bump your head all the time!" Shinra shot back.
"Heavens know you can't afford to lose anymore brain cells." Elektra added.
Arthur merely let out a low, "Heh", a smile on his face.
"So, umm…." Juggernaut spoke up then, sheepishly asking his question. "Why did all of you join the Fire Force?"
"So, I can protect everybody from human combustion and infernals. So, I can be a hero, of course!" Shinra instantly answered, always ready to tell people of his dream.
"It is only natural that a knight would defend the weak." Arthur added.
"Well, I'm a Third Gen, so I figured I could get a lot of chicks if I were a soldier." Toru remarked idly.
"Trust me," Elektra turned her eyes to Toru. "Until you fix that attitude of yours, that won't happen."
"Why'd you join then? I though Slade hated the Empire." Toru retorted.
"That's a common misconception those outside of Nyuhebun have fostered. And, no, we don't hate men, either." Elektra corrected. "While we typically do not have much to do with the Empire, and vice versa, I am an unorthodox Slade. I wanted to help more people and find out what causes SHC so I can protect my loved ones from it. Getting outside my own district just seemed like the logical first step to achieving that."
"Those are all such good reasons." Juggernaut remarked. "I can't even use my ignition powers right…and I'm not trying to accomplish anything great like the rest of you."
"Who cares why you're in the Force?" Shinra asked. "If you're helping people, that's good enough, right?"
"You…you think so? Thanks, Shinra-kun!" Juggernaut cheered.
A sudden knock at the door had Arthur rising to answer it. Before he could open the door, though, it flew open and Tamaki entered uninvited. "Come on! It's time for the morning assembly! All of you, hurry to your assigned units!"
Elektra pressed a hand to her mouth, holding in the urge to laugh, when Arthur, who had been reaching for the doorknob, ended up with his hand up Tamaki's skirt. Tamaki jumped away from him, yelling at him only to end up tripping and sitting on Shinra's face. Jumping up, she started hitting him like it had been his fault.
"That really wasn't his fault." Elektra told her, pulling her back away from Shinra. A bell sounded overhead then, drawing all of their attention up towards the ceiling. "A bell? Is the assembly starting?"
"That's the alarm. An infernal's on the loose!" Tamaki exclaimed. "Juggernaut, you're with Lieutenant Hoshimiya's unit. Kishiri, you're with Lieutenant Li! And you in Company 8, go meet up with Lieutenant Flam!"
Elektra led the way out the door, splitting from the others in order to go change. Once changed, Elektra leaving in her usual shorts and top under her Fire Force coat, joined Karim and her comrades in the matchbox. There, Karim turned to Shinra, Elektra and Arthur.
"Looks like there's more than one again." Elektra and Shinra shared a look. "Five victims have gone infernal. What the hell is going on? It's happened again, multiple combustions, all at the same time."
Elektra frowned as she pulled her coat closer around her, a chill starting to creep up her spine the closer to the scene they got. She could feel the infernal, cold spots blooming all over her body. Multiple spots, multiple people in the same place bursting into flames…it reminded her all too much of the night she lost her parents. Knowing what she did now made her grit her teeth because it meant that someone could have gone into her district and attacked her people. Now they were doing it in other places as well. It turned her insides just to think about it.
When they arrived on the scene, Karim left Elektra and her fellow Company 8 soldiers on standby to watch as they worked. Elektra was impressed by how well the members of Company 1 worked, but she felt useless just standing there, shivering in her coat. They were standing there when Shinra suddenly let out a yell, a new, stronger chill suddenly shooting up Elektra's spine.
A new infernal had just sprung into existence.
"What's gotten into you?!" Arthur demanded as he and Elektra turned to look at Shinra.
"I saw him!" Shinra declared, taking off like a bolt.
Arthur and Elektra didn't even stop to share a look before they followed him, Arthur calling out to Shinra. "Who?! The scoundrel that manufactures infernals?!"
"It was definitely him! He planted a bug of something inside that guy!" Shinra replied.
"A bug?" Elektra wasn't sure how a bug could turn someone infernal, but who was she to question it.
The three rocketed around the newly turned infernal, and into the alley the culprit had vanished down. They would chase him down if they had to. Arthur looked back at the infernal they had just passed. "What do we do about him?"
"Just leave him to Company 1. We don't have time to stop, or we'll lose the culprit." Elektra told him, eyes forwards.
Moving quickly, they rushed down the alley and flew around a corner. There, they slid to a halt when they found Rekka and Karim. The two turned to look at them when they came to a sliding stand still.
Karim turned to look at them, his brows furrowing. "What are you doing? I thought I ordered you to stand by."
"Shinra! Elektra! Did you find an infernal?!" Rekka asked.
Were the two the ones they were looking for or was it merely a coincidence that they had happened upon them? Elektra didn't much believe in coincidences, but she knew she couldn't just go and blindly accuse someone of something they were possibly innocent of. Either way, Elektra knew they couldn't tell them the real reason they were there. Arthur, though, wasn't that smart.
"Knaves! What were you doing here?! I will – " Shinra elbowed Arthur hard in the gut and quickly grabbed the boy in a headlock. "What in blazes are you doing?"
"Oh, man, Arthur-kun, what's gotten into you!? We need to get back to our post and stand by." Shinra acted.
Elektra stepped forward, playing more into the, in her opinion, horrible act. "Forgive us, Lieutenants. Arthur ran off and we got lost following him. Shinra and Arthur are almost never in Shinjuku, and I've never been here before."
Tamaki showed up then to report that the infernals had been put to rest. With the job done, Rekka went one way with Tamaki while Karim lead Elektra, Shinra, and Arthur another way.
"Hey," Arthur moved close to Shinra to speak lowly. "Why did you stop me?"
"We'll talk about it later." Elektra told him lowly, leaning towards him.
When they returned to base, the three holed up in Elektra's room where they could talk in private, away from prying ears. There, Arthur crossed his arms. "I thought those lieutenants were our suspects in the artificial infernals case. What's wrong? Is the Devil getting cold feet?"
"I know you have a functioning brain in there. Think about it, Arthur." Elektra scolded lightly. "We still don't know who to trust and who not to. If we had confronted them, then and there, without knowing that we could have turned the whole of Company 1 against us. In that case, they would have ended us, without delay, and we would never know if the culprit was one or both of them, if it was them at all."
"So, what's your plan?" Arthur asked, seeing the point.
"Yeah…I saw him. He put a vial up to a civilian's back – a vial with a bug in it. And then…" Shinra trailed off as he remembered the sight.
"He went infernal." Arthur finished.
"It's pure evil! I know it's what we suspected…but I still can't believe a Fire Soldier would make infernals." Shinra snapped.
"I know how you feel, but don't let your feelings get ahead of you. Remember, be selective in your battles, sometimes peace is better than being right." Elektra told him.
"Meaning?" Shinra asked.
"Right now, choosing peace over charging in to prove your right, is the way to go. Don't let your emotions blind your intelligence." Elektra answered.
Arthur frowned while Shinra thought over Elektra's words. "I asked a nun who was passing by earlier. Even in Company 1, only those three lieutenants wear robes like that. It looks like our only option is to investigate the two you found at the scene – Karim and Rekka."
"We can't count out Lieutenant Huo Yan, either just because we didn't see him." Elektra added. "As much as I hate to point fingers when we don't have more information, being safe rather than sorry is the best bet."
"You're awfully eager." Shinra accused. "These are powerful guys we're up against."
Arthur gave him a stern look. "Of course, I'm eager. I don't care who's behind this – they must face justice!"
"I won't back down, either." Elektra agreed sternly. "We Slade don't shatter beneath power when there's evil being done. The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists." Elektra gave a nod of her head. "We'll need to search their private quarters."
Arthur and Shinra agreed with her, and they made their plan. After Arthur pressed up in a hood and mask, they headed out.
"We'll start with Karim. His room's at the end of this hall." Shinra told Arthur and Elektra when they reached the hall.
"And he's not in right now?" Arthur asked.
"I told Toru and Juggernaut to stall him, and Elektra will help out if she has to." Shinra replied.
"Did you tell them about our mission?" Elektra asked curiously.
"No, they seem to have taken an interest in "Lucky Lecher Lure" Tamaki. When I said I'd help get her phone number, they were happy to pitch in. I make no guarantees!" Shinra turned to look at Arthur while Elekta grinned. "Anyway, what are you wearing?"
"I've made a job change from knight to assassin!"
Arthur turned to look at Shinra and Elektra, both giving him weird looks that had him removing the hood and mask. Shinra clicked his tongue. "After all your obsessing over knights…"
"I am a knight." Arthur insisted.
"Oh, my poor, delusional puppy," Elektra pat Arthur's head. "Sure, you are." Arthur frowned, wondering what she meant by that. "Just go. I'll be look out."
Shinra and Arthur nodded, leaving her there to hurry to the room. Elektra found herself a perch in the window nearby and pulled out a book. That way, if anyone passed by, it merely appeared as if she had found a quiet place to read. She had barely been there for five or ten minutes when Karim appeared with Toru and Juggernaut, already looking annoyed.
He stormed right past her before she could stop him and straight to his room. Toru and Juggernaut bailed, Elektra flying to her feet to help her friends, her book laying forgotten in the windowsill. "Lieutenant Flam, I can ex – "
"Get in here." Elektra let out a yelp of surprise when Karim grabbed her by the arm and tugged her into the room, closing the door behind her. "I left that buggy little bug there on purpose. You were acting weird in the alley. So, I thought I'd test you.
"Test?" Elektra straightened herself, joining Arthur and Shinra across from Karim.
"So, Company 8 is looking for the buggy bug, too. And you broke my door and desk, so don't try to tell me you came in here by accident." Karim told them.
"Would you believe morbid curiosity in how a lieutenant keeps his room?" Elektra asked. Karim gave her a wilting look that had her sighing. "I thought not."
Shinra shared a look with Elektra before fixing his eyes back on Karim. "What are you saying?"
"I'm trying to find the louse who's spreading these bugs, too." Karim replied.
"Oh! Then you're on our side." Arthur remarked, quick to believe him.
Elektra shook her head as she looked at Arthur. "You poor thing…how do you function?"
Arthur gave her a questioning look while Shinra spoke to Karim. "We're supposed to trust you?"
Elektra, herself, was eyeing Karim, as if she was trying to get a grasp on Karim's motives, on whether or not she believed him. Karim met her gaze, Elektra staring back rather than looking away like any other person would do.
"You saw who did it. And you specifically came after me. Was it someone in a robe like mine?" Shinra's silence was all the answer Karim needed. "I knew it. You came here looking for a man in a robe. I didn't do it. There was only one other person in that alley wearing a robe. If you ask me, that settles it. The man we're after…"
"Is Rekka Hoshimiya." Elektra finished for Karim.
"Yeah. Two months ago, we had a case where a whole group of kids went up in flames. It just wasn't natural. That's when I found the bugs." Karim told them.
Elektra's hands flew to her stomach, fingers curling into her skin. "Kids? A whole group? On purpose? Why would someone do such a thing?"
"I don't know. We're still seeing an unnaturally high occurrence of kids igniting unnaturally." Karim replied.
Elektra could tell it hit him hard, knowing that one of his close comrades was creating infernals out of children. She felt bad for him, but he didn't let her say anything in reply to it. He ushered them out of his room, telling them to keep it between them until he could come up with a plan. Even before he closed the door, Elektra already knew the plan he would go with. It was incredibly obvious.
When Karim went to leave a few hours later, he ran into the three of them waiting for him.
"You're going to face Rekka, aren't you? We're going with you." Arthur declared.
"This is a Company 1 problem. Keep your noses out of it." Karim told him.
"We've been assigned to your unit, Lieutenant Karim." Shinra reminded him.
"Then this is an order from your lieutenant. Butt out." Karim retorted.
"I'm not of the Empire, period." Karim turned to Elektra who smile brightly in an all-too-fake innocent way. "I might be a part of Company 1 right now, but I'm a Slade, first and foremost, and do as I wish when I wish. Right now, I feel like ignoring orders. No offense, Lieutenant, but…I'd like to see you stop me, because honestly…your ice is a poor match for my electricity."
And Karim knew it. He had seen how fast she had moved, had felt the crackle in the air that had rolled off her like waves. A Third Generation like her, with her abilities, was a horrible match for a Second Generation like him. He couldn't freeze her electricity like he could another Third Gen's fire.
"You're under me as if you're under me, but you're not actually under me, is that it?" Karim asked. "Sure makes it easy to get your way."
Elektra gave him an even brighter smile. "You're obviously a smart man, so please, Lieutenant…don't make it harder on yourself. Just between the four of us…a Slade always gets what she wants."
Karim let out a small chuckle. She was all but forcing his hand and wasn't interested in trying to hide it in the least. "Well then, have it your way and do it your way!"
Elektra beamed. "I most certainly will."
Karim moved past her as she stepped out of the way. "I haven't seen Rekka in the grand cathedral. I'm going to find him."
Leaving the compound, they split up. Shinra and Elektra took to the sky to search for Rekka while Karim and Arthur remained on foot. Bouncing from roof top to roof top, Elektra had to wonder how they could possibly find Rekka in so big a ward as Shinjuku. Just as she thought this, she caught sight of what looked like a fire from an abandoned factory building, goosebumps popping up on her skin.
"Shinra! Did you see that?" she called up to Shinra.
"Yeah!" Shinra called back. "What is that?"
As fast as the flash was there, though, it was gone, the gooseflesh going with it. "I don't know. I know I saw something flash and I got a strange feeling, but it was gone quickly."
"We probably imagined it. I don't really see anything unusual…we have to find Rekka and fast! Let's keep searching." Shinra told her.
"Yeah, okay." Even as Shinra turned to continue on, Elektra lingered. She had a feeling in her gut that she shouldn't ignore the flash and feeling she'd had. An instinct that was proven right when two tails of pink flames suddenly shot up from the building. "Shinra! Over there!"
Shinra didn't need any more urging to rush to the scene, Elektra close on his fiery heels. What they found when they arrived was a beaten Tamaki at the feet of Rekka, the man about to land a killing blow. Shinra instantly dropped from the sky, landing a hard kick to Rekka's face. Elektra dropped to land beside Tamaki, knelling beside her to check on her.
"Are you alright, Tamaki?" Elektra asked, tilting her face to get a good look at all the bruises already forming on her abused skin. "He didn't twist your neck or anything, did he?"
"We saw your signal flare. Good work." Shinra praised, tears coming to Tamaki's eyes because she knew everything would be alright now.
Elektra jolted when Rekka rose from the floor. "Shinra, behind you!"
Even with the warning, Shinra took a fiery fist to the face. To his credit, Shinra quickly regained his footing. "Rekka Hoshimiya! You're behind this!"
"Don't try to stop me." Rekka warned, another punch flying. Shinra caught it, but the fiery blast that accompanied it still sent him flying. "Whoa! I'm not stopping! Don't be stupid! Your wannabe karate moves don't stand a chance against my fists!"
"You don't be stupid." Rekka took a hard knee to the side of the face when Elektra jumped into the fight. The electrified blow sent him skidding away from her. "Did you forget that there's two of us?"
Shinra followed up with a kick, hoping to catch Rekka while was stunned. Rekka caught the kick and knocked Shinra away only to have to whip around and defend against a sharp jab from Elektra that managed to slice part of his robe even after being whacked aside. Rekka didn't want to find out what it could do to his skin if it made contact. Shinra kept him on his toes with a sudden knee to the face.
Rekka took the hit to land a punch to Shinra's gut. Shinra latched onto his arm, yanking Rekka down into an arm hold. "Rekka Hoshimiya! There's no backing out now – not now that the hero, Catch-the-dirtbag-making-artificial-infernals-man, as arrived!"
With a long name like that, even Elektra kind of thought that Shinra deserved the punch to the face that Rekka delivered.
"I don't need to back out! Because I only ever go forward!" Rekka declared, laying on the fire power.
"Then go forward into a wall!" Elektra hit him with both feet, slamming him into a wall and away from Shinra. Rekka grabbed her ankle, swinging her around to slam her into the same wall. Elektra caught herself with the flats of her arms to weaken the impact, slamming her free foot into Rekka's face. With a flash of electricity, Rekka was forced to release her and back off.
Tamaki watched the exchange of blows with astoundment. "I thought Kusakabe and Casteel were Second Class soldiers like me. But they're both matching Lieutenant Rekka, blow for blow."
Elektra and Shinra closed ranks around Rekka, one on either side. The man glanced between them. "Don't mess with me! I won't let anyone interfere with our evangelism!"
"Just shut up, you hot-headed jackass!" Shinra snapped.
"Well, it's no problem for me. It's just one more body." Rekka replied, still grinning widely.
"Yeah…yours." Elektra declared, both hers and Shinra's flames intensifying.
A sudden scratching noise drew Rekka's attention to his pocket. Out of it, he pulled a vial with a bug in it. "The bug…it's…it's reacting to the flames coming from one of you?! Is it trying to return to them?!"
Both Shinra and Elektra looked at their flames. They had no idea what Rekka was talking about. "What the…?! What are you talking about!?"
Rekka's face lit up. "Yesss! It's my lucky day! You were here all along. One of you is the third one. The Evangelist has been searching for you. The unsullied flame. The Adolla Burst!"
"Adolla Burst?" Elektra and Shinra shared a look of confusion, neither knowing what Rekka was talking about. "What's that?"
"It's what the Evangelist has had us searching for. The holy fire that will guide mankind, possessed only by the offspring of the great sun god. Pure, unadulterated flame. We've been igniting the spark in children for ages, searching for a host, and here you've been all along. I just have to figure out which of you it is."
"In children?" Elektra's lips tugged into a frown. Almost a third of those who had burned up the night her parents had gone infernal, had been children, like her. It made her stomach turn with sourness.
"Just how many people have you murdered?" Shinra demanded.
"It doesn't matter! A small sacrifice toward our ultimate goal!" Rekka replied.
"Shinra!" Elektra dived for Shinra, trying to grab Shinra before he could just jump in without thinking, but was too fast for her to grab.
"You could stand to keep a cool head like Elektra! You'll never beat me with such painfully straight-forward attacks!" Rekka told him, bracing himself to fend off Shinra.
"I don't care what your "goal" is – you think you can get away with this?!"
Rekka's fist caught Shinra's face, Elektra ducking as he was sent flying back towards her. Instead, he ended up in Tamaki's lap, face buried in her chest. Elektra heaved a sigh as Tamaki yelled at him and Shinra turned to return to the fight, he unintentionally took her top with him. Right then was really not the time for Tamaki's lucky lecher lure to be acting out.
That said, Elektra was forced to turn back to the fight as Rekka attacked her. Crossing her arms before her, she blocked the blow, sliding back several feet as a wince left her. "You survived an attempt at transforming into an infernal…is it you with the Adolla Burst?"
Elektra flashed out of the way of the next punch, the heel of her foot snaking out to sending Rekka's head snapping to the side. "I don't know how you know about that, but it's none of your business." Elektra twisted to then slam her other foot into his side, sending him skidding across the floor away from her.
"After that little surprise during our spar, I looked into you. Daughter of a military man and his engineer wife, you parents went infernal when you were nine. You almost did, too, but it stopped, and you were left scarred and the only survivor. Grew up in the care of the Slade Task Force's training master, Leigh Dioux." Rekka recited, rubbing his newly kicked cheek.
"Your point?" Elektra demanded.
"You made quite a name for yourself among the Slade, and it all started with your awakening. You have to be the one! It wasn't a waste!"
Elektra frowned, electrical sparks dancing over her. "A waste? Are you saying your Evangelist was responsible for that night?"
Rekka's grin only grew wider. "I knew it couldn't be a waste! The Evangelist was right! It has to be you!"
Elektra's blood went cold. So, they were responsible for that night. For the deaths of her parents and all of those who had been lost that night. So much death…it made her want to throw up when she thought of another possible attack on Nyuhebun. Swallowing, Elektra calmed herself, taking a deep breath. "Sorry, but I highly doubt it."
Electricity turned to flames as Elektra's appearance shifted to that of her Mock Infernal. Rekka braced himself for the sharp increase of Elektra's speed. He was not prepared, however, for the flames on her body to suddenly turn into electricity, turning the young woman into a human taser. The zap to his brain almost did him in when she let him land a punch to her gut. While Elektra was sent flying onto her back, sure her last meal would make a reappearance, Rekka was left reeling from the shock and the lingering electricity dancing up his arm.
"Tag, Shinra, you're it." Elektra called, needing a moment to rest her crushed diaphragm.
"You okay?" Shinra called back to her.
"I'll be fine. I recover quicker in this form." Elektra assured him. She couldn't tell him why, but she did. A few moments and she would be simply fine.
Shinra barely turned to face Rekka when the man attacked. He had to throw up his arms to guard against the flames, but the fire curled around him to burn away the clothes on Tamaki behind him. When Tamaki yelped, Shinra turned to check on her. "You okay, Tamaki?"
Shinra turned to find she had been reduced to bra and panties, the boy staring in shock. This, of course, gave Rekka the opening to punch him. In his fall, Shinra ended up kissing Tamaki's cheek. While Shinra stumbled to recover, Elektra jumped back into the fight. The hit to her gut showed in her reduced speed, the girl taking more hits, but also landing some of her own. Rekka turned up the heat, literally, on his flames. After that, even Elektra's own hits managed to cause her pain.
Then Rekka found her glaring weakness.
Children.
One of the children still in the vicinity made a noise, drawing Elektra's attention to him out of concern. Elektra quickly moved to grab the child and Rekka took advantage of it. Elektra dived for the child, scooping him up just as Rekka punched. She wrapped her body tightly around the boy, extinguishing her own flames so not to burn him. Rekka's punch hit her side like a ton of bricks.
"Elektra!" Shinra yelled as she flew into a wall, the brick breaking under the impact. When the smoke cleared, it revealed Elektra, out like light, the child held protectively and untouched in the curve of her body. "Tamaki, can you go check on her?!"
"Right! Don't let him beat you!" Tamaki told him as she ran to Elektra's side.
Tamaki checked on Elektra as Shinra continued his fight. As far as she could tell, Elektra was alive and breathing, but she had no idea if the girl had any broken bones or internal damage. The child, though scared, was unharmed, having been shielded by Elektra's well trained body.
When Shinra landed a hard, ground-breaking kick that shook the very foundation of the building, Tamaki covered Elektra and the child to make sure that they remained unharmed from the blast. She then turned to check on Shinra.
"You okay, Kusakabe?! You're breathing pretty hard."
"Yeah…I flew here and went straight into battle. I'm a little light-headed. I think I used too much of my ignition powers." Shinra replied.
"You overheated! You used up your fuel supply – you're out of oxygen." Tamaki told him.
The noise of Rekka fighting to get to his feet once more, mouth and nose bleeding heavily, drew Shinra's attention to him. "It's over, Rekka Hoshimiya! It's time you admit defeat!"
"I finally found a child host. And I won't let him get away! For the Evangelist!" Rekka declared.
"Why are you turning children into infernals?! Are you the only one or are there more?! Who's the Evangelist?" Shinra demanded.
"We will find host children and create more pyrokinetics. We will produce infernals and send mankind back to the flame…all in accordance with the Evangelist's will!" Rekka said, determination written on his crazed face.
"What are you after?" Shinra asked.
Rekka turned towards a window as sun shined through the glassless panes. "Behold the radiance of the blazing star heated in the heavens. We will all go home to the bosom of the great sun god. We will turn all human beings to flame and cover the earth in the great flame of fire! This planet and all mankind will emerge transformed by the fires of salvation! Then, this world will be a second sun!"
The whole thing sounded crazy to Shinra. "What are you talking about? You want to make this planet a…?"
"A star!" Rekka finished, crazed grin on his face. It was then that Rekka spotted Tamaki trying to sneak the children out of there and away from the fight. "You're not going anywhere! I'll take them away and say they died in the fire! They will learn, from an early age, the doctrine of the Evangelist!"
The words triggered Shinra, but he couldn't dwell as Rekka unleased all the fire he could manage. "Stop! You'll be roasted in your own flames!"
"But before I burn out, I will reduce you all to ash!"
A ringing sounded clear over the roar of flames, Rekka's flames turning to ice around his arms and spreading to other parts of his body. Karim had made his arrival.
"Karim! Don't try to stop me!" Rekka snapped at him.
"Quit it. The hotter you get, the more I'll cool you down!" Karim warned him.
Rekka wouldn't hear reason, all logic long gone. "I'll evaporate your stupid ice!"
"Don't!" Shinra insisted. "You'll burn yourself up!"
Rekka wouldn't listen and just kept going until the ice completely covered him. Karim had to turn his head away from the frozen form of his friend, disappointment and sadness in his eyes. "This isn't why I was always watching your back."
Huo Yan arrived then, taking in the scene before him. "I came when I heard the report. Karim…what happened here? What's going to become of Company 1?"
"This is just a hunch, but I have a feeling this problem is bigger than just Company 1. It's much bigger – a big problem that's going to affect the whole nation." Karim told him, a sinking feeling in his gut.
"Thanks for your help, Lieutenant Karim!" Shinra walked up to the two men. "Is Rekka…dead?"
"I left him some air holes. He's just trapped. Later, we'll make him tell us everything he knows." Karim assured him.
Shinra released a relieved sigh that was quickly in vain. A glinting flash was the only warning before something hit the ground, throwing up dust. When it cleared, they found a hole right through the frozen Rekka's chest, blood spilling out of the hole.
"What in the world just happened?" Huo Yan asked, all of them confused.
Another fire hit then, barely missing Huo Yan and Karim. Huo Yan caught sight of the warning glint out the window announcing another incoming shot. He dived forward, shoving Karim out of the way, and losing his right arm for his efforts to save his friend. Another shot came right after that, aiming right for Huo Yan.
"Take cover, Lieutenant!" The call proceeded Elektra shouldering Huo Yan out of the way. The shot only skimmed Elektra, but still took a chuck of flesh out of her side, just below her ribs.
"Elektra!"
Elektra hit the ground with a grunt of pain, Huo Yan just to her side. Seeing the two badly hurt, Karim turned to Shinra. "Shinra! Put up a smoke screen!"
Shinra did at told, Karim ordering Tamaki to hide the kids while he scooped up Elektra, diving behind a pillar with Huo Yan. Huo Yan tied a make-shift tourniquet around his stub of a arm while Karim applied pressure to Elektra's wound, the girl hissing in an effort to keep just how much pain she was in to herself. Karim turned to Huo Yan. "Huo Yan…I'm sorry."
"You're Company 1's shield. We can't afford to lose you here." Huo Yan replied.
"A shield isn't supposed to be shielded. I can't let them do any more damage." Karim replied, turning to Tamaki next. "Tamaki! Send all the flames you can in the direction those shots came from! But not in a straight line or he'll see where you are! Do a zigzag zagziggy kinda of thing!"
"Yes, sir!"
With Tamaki's agreement, Karim turned back to look down at Elektra. Her eyes were closed as she took deep breaths, trying not to let her pain get the best of her. The increasing pallor of her skin was the only sign. "Thanks."
"Yes, thank you. I might have been killed if not for you." Huo Yan agreed.
A pained laugh left Elektra, the girl wincing for the effort. "Oh, please. You're a lieutenant of Company 1 and I'm just a grunt from Company 8. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which of us is more important." Elektra waved them off. "Besides…I'm already riddled with scars. What's one more for the life of a comrade? No, you can always count on a Slade having your back. We're loyal to a fault, unfortunately."
"Thank you nonetheless." Huo Yan told her.
Elektra just gave him a smile stretched taunt, Karim checking on her wound. It was still bleeding, the man fearing she might bleed out at that rate. "Think you can stand?"
"I'd really love to say yes, Lieutenant, but the room is already spinning. The blood loss mixed with too much use of my flames is starting to get to me." Elektra replied honestly, squeezing her eyes shut.
Karim nodded, grateful for her candor. He turned as Tamaki did as he ordered, long tails of flame zigzagging towards the enemy only for Karim to freeze them.
"Karim…what is the point of this ice?" Huo Yan asked.
"I'm making a wall to block us from view, and at the same time, I'm letting them know that we know where they are. When you do things that don't make sense, the other guy'll make up his own interpretation and get scared. Because snipers make it a point to work from a safe zone." Karim replied.
"Shouldn't I go after them?" Shinra asked from Karim's other side.
"You're overheated. They'll shoot you down before you get close. All we can do is huddle here in our shells like turtles. So, freak yourselves out and get lost already!" Karim said, aiming the last part at their enemies.
"They sure made a mess of things." Shinra remarked. "What the hell are they?"
Elektra half sat up from where Karim had laid her. "Top of my list of people to hang by their toes, that's who."
"Lay back down, you bratty brat!" Karim placed a hand on her forehead and shoved her back down.
"You know, if you're not gentler, Lieutenant, you'll never get a girl. And you aren't that much older than me." Elektra told him.
Karim frowned down at her for her comments. Just then, a shiver coursed down Elektra's spin, making Shinra turn to look at her. He knew what that shiver usually meant. Huo Yan's wireless going off kept him from saying anything.
Huo Yan pulled it out to answer it. "What is it?"
"It's an emergency! We have an infernal sighting!" came the hysterical voice on the other end. "Requesting immediate back up!"
"How many are there? We're already dealing with an emergency over here." Huo Yan retorted.
"H-how many?! One!"
"One? Then what's with the panicky panic? We've been putting out multiple infernal fires on a daily basis." Karim scoffed.
"It-it's not what you think! There is only one infernal, but we've never seen one like this! It's really big! And it seems that similar infernals have ignited simultaneously in every Fire Force jurisdiction!"
Elektra lifted her head to stare at the wireless. That would explain the strange chill she had gotten. It certainly hadn't felt like any chill she had gotten before. "Well, you know what they say…when it rains, it pours."
The looks directed at her told her that right then wasn't the time for her comment.
In the end, the giant infernals were dealt with without their help, their training assignment was cancelled, and Elektra ended up in the hospital with Obi worrying over her like a father would.
Overall, not the way she thought the investigation would end, but all's well that ends well, right?
End
Kyandi: You know, I really liked Rekka at first.
Elektra: I did too. You know…before he went all crazy.
Kyandi: He was already crazy. He just finally let his freak flag fly.
Elektra: You have a point.
Kyandi: And now, because of that, you have a beautiful new friendship to foster.
Elektra: I do. But not as beautiful as the one I have coming up.
Kyandi: One you enjoy a whole lot more, too.
Elektra: Oh, yeah.
Kyandi: With that said, everyone please enjoy and review.
Elektra: We'll return soon.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!