Kyandi: Greetings all!
Elektra: I'm actually looking forward to the next few chapters.
Kyandi: You and I both.
Elektra: It's going to be amusing.
Kyandi: I certainly thought so. So, should we just jump on in?
Elektra: It sounds like a promising idea to me.
Kyandi: Alrighty! Everyone, please enjoy and review.
Elektra: Kyandi-sama does not own Fire Force.
Chapter 5 Empire Orders
"Honestly, Lieutenant…you don't have to visit every chance you get."
Elektra's protest was met with a chuckle. She was on her sixth day in the hospital and almost every single day Huo Yan had visited her. He gave her a smile, shifting in his chair. "You saved my life. I'm merely making sure you don't grow bored here."
Elektra gave him a sheepish smile from where she was propped up in her bed, one finger scratching a cheek. "With a company like mine, there's no such thing. Captain Obi is in and out of here at all hours, every day. But thank you for the consideration. I never thought I would have a priest for a friend."
"I could say the same. Slades usually don't come anywhere near Company 1 turf unless they're patrolling the walls you have around Nyuhebun." Huo Yan told her. "I have to say, your people are quite mysterious."
"So, I've heard. We aren't all too different, though. We just happen to work better with women in charge instead of men. No offense meant, I swear."
Huo Yan shook his head. "None taken. Your file said you were in the Task Force. How different is it being in a company compared to the Task Force?"
Elektra heaved a sigh. "The biggest difference is the chain of command and where I fall in it."
A surprised look fell on Huo Yan's face. "You had a leadership position?"
"A unit all of my own." Elektra replied with pride.
"What made you leave a leadership position in the Special District for a grunt position in Company 8?" Elektra didn't seem like the type to make rash decisions. It made him curious.
"I'm an orphan taken in by the Slade when one night most of the people on the military base where I lived, turned infernal. That includes my parents. Thanks to information I recently obtained, I now know that it was man-caused. When I think about those flames that killed so many and then about my foster family…it turns my blood to ice. And then I look at all the orphans left in our care, who lost their parents to the flames. My heart aches for them because I know what it's like. When our leader was approached about sending a Task Force member to help fill out Company 8's ranks for their mission to investigate SHC, I jumped at the opportunity to help put an end to it before anyone else I love is killed."
"An honorable reason." Huo Yan said with a nod.
"Truthfully, it's a selfish reason. It's merely so I don't lose anyone else." Elektra admitted with a sigh. She could say that, but Huo Yan still thought it noble. It was obvious to him that her heart was incredibly compassionate. "Anyway, how are you adjusting?"
Huo Yan looked down at what was left of his right arm when she gestured to it. "It's…difficult."
"As it should be. You lost an arm. Most would be devastated. I don't think I could handle it with the grace you have been."
"Thank you for saying that. It has been a test to my faith."
Elektra shifted in her bed, sitting herself up a little straighter. "I may not believe in your god, but I still hope you hold onto your faith no matter what."
"Do you mind if I ask why you don't believe in Sol?"
Elektra smiled. "I'm human, Lieutenant. That's why." Seeing his confused look, she explained. "I believe that everything happens for a reason. Pain to purpose is how my mother used to describe it. Whether that is because of some god or another, or something else entirely, I don't know. Now, I could have blind faith in what I can't see, the greatest and worst kind of faith, like you, but I would rather put my faith in something tangible…like my flames and the strength of my comrades and myself. Whoever, or whatever, gave me my flames…I thank them with all my heart, but I will not devote my faith to them. Now, when I die, if it all turns out to be right, then I will admit my ignorance and accept my punishment for disbelief with grace."
Huo Yan chuckled. "Whether you believe it or not, it sounds like you have a bit of blind faith yourself."
"You think?" Elektra shrugged her shoulders, a soft smile on her face. "I don't know if I believe that. For me, I'm simply focusing on what's ahead of me. Taking life one day at a time."
"That's all any of us can do." Huo Yan agreed.
Elektra agreed. Each day was a fresh start and a chance to make a change. All Elektra could do was take that new day, make of it what she could, and run with it.
To where, she would figure out later.
The next day, Elektra was finally released to go back to the Company 8 cathedral. What she found was the usual chaos she had come to associate with Company 8 plus the addition of one more cast member, Tamaki.
"Tamaki? What are you doing here?" Elektra asked upon entering the office behind Hinawa, who had picked her up from the hospital.
The office exploded with greetings as Iris and Maki flew to Elektra to hug her, glad to have her home. Elektra greeted them all with a big smile before turning to see her answer.
"After her involvement in the Hoshimiya incident, Tamaki has been suspended from working with Company 1." Obi explained as he welcomed her back with a smile. "I'm keeping her with us during her suspension. Having all three of you here will make filing that report easier."
"Oh! I guess I'll have a bunkmate then!" Elektra remarked, happily accepting it as fact. She gave Tamaki a welcoming smile.
"You're just going to accept it like that!?" Shinra demanded.
Elektra shrugged her shoulders. "Captain Obi has a point, Shinra. Besides, she doesn't really have anywhere else to go. I'm sure it won't be too bad."
Shinra scoffed at that but didn't say another word. They merely returned to business as normal. Elektra settled back into life at the cathedral, glad to be back with her comrades instead of stuck in a hospital room by herself.
The next day, the captains of all companies were summoned for a meeting with the holy emperor. Obi informed Elektra, Shinra and Tamaki that they would be joining him under orders from the emperor himself. A shock to Elektra, but like with most things, she just rolled with it.
"Is it really okay for you to take the three of us with you?" Shinra asked as they stood before Obi in their special occasion garb.
"This meeting is about the Evangelist and the organization of white hoods. Since you three were there for the attacks by Lieutenant Hoshimiya and the White Hoods, we're going to need you to report." Obi replied.
Arthur popped out from behind a corner then. "What about me?"
"You were lost the whole time, Arthur. You had no part in it." Elektra reminded him.
Obi picked up his hat to put it on. "Hinawa will drive us to the Central Ward. You ready? Anybody need to use the bathrooms?"
"No, Dad, I think we're good." Elektra retorted playfully.
"Then we're leaving."
Elektra ended up in the back seat of a black car, between Shinra and Tamaki. Being trapped between the two reminded her of old times as a teenager when she would end up in one of the back seats of the van her foster mother drove with a foster sibling on either side of her. It had a grin on her face as she remembered all the bickering back and forth and the calls of, "Are we there yet?" from the other seats.
Obi talking drew her back to the present. "Man, I'm so glad Arthur's back home."
"He's not a pet." Shinra retorted.
"Might as well be with how he acts sometimes." Elektra joked.
Shinra gave her a weird look before turning to look at Obi in the front seat. "Do they do this a lot? Get all the captains together, I mean?"
"It hasn't happened once since I've been captain. Which goes to show how serious the situation is." Obi told him. "Artificial infernals…the White Hoods…and the Evangelist…We are definitely getting closer to finding the cause of the infernal outbreak."
"I sure hope so." Elektra prayed.
Upon arriving, Shinra and Elektra looked around in fascination. "So, this is Central."
"What? You've never been here before?" Tamaki asked before she remembered. "Oh, right. You're in Company 8. Company 1 comes here for special worship services."
"Ah! Is that-?!" Tamaki and Elektra both jumped when Shinra suddenly yelled. "Is that what I think it is? I see it on TV all the time."
Tamaki turned in the direction he pointed. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess you haven't seen that before, either. That's right. It's the powerplant that was built at the beginning of the Solar Era. The Perpetual Thermal Energy Plant, Amaterasu."
"Amaterasu produces all of Tokyo's power." Obi added.
"All by itself? That's some serious firepower." Shinra remarked in awe.
"What are you people doing?" Elektra turned as Hibana approached them. "Is Company 8 here to see the sights? It's almost time for the captains' meeting."
Hibana lead the way to the cathedral where the meeting would be held. Upon entering, Karim greeted them. "Thanks for your help the other day."
"No, thank you, sir." Shinra replied, before stopping to take in all the captains.
Elektra was more intrigued by the cathedral's layout and wasn't paying attention a Shinra stopped when he caught sight of Company 7's captain and lieutenant. Obi leaned close to whisper to Shinra. "Even Company 7's captain is here, and he never goes to anything. This is really serious."
"That's Company 7's captain? He's the toughest soldier in the force!" Shinra said a little too loudly that it drew the very man's attention to him. Shinra couldn't keep his lips from drawing back in a smirk of unease when the captain's eyes landed on him.
Company 7's Captain, Benimaru Shinmon, turned to glare at Shinra. "What's so funny, snot-nose?"
Company 7's lieutenant, Konro Sagamiya, laid a hand on his captain's shoulder. "Waka…"
"Um…I'm sorry, sir." Shinra apologized.
"Shut up. I'm not gonna bite you." Benimaru told him tartly.
Elektra walked between the three then, oblivious to the tension between them, a smile on her face. She only barely glanced over her shoulder at Shinra, unaware of Benimaru and Konro. "Come on, Shinra."
Benimaru's eyes fixed in on Elektra as she confidently, and without a care, walked down the center aisle to where her captain was seated, claiming a seat in the pew behind him. Even as she flicked her long, white ponytail over her scarred shoulder, he stared. Shinra took the chance to slip past him and claimed his own seat. They all, save for Benimaru, stood as the very ruler of the empire walked in. Though, Elektra didn't tent her hands along with the other, her right hand went to its customary position over her heart.
Empire Raffles sat, looking out over the captains. "Captains…I see you're all here. Then let us begin the emergency captains' meeting. I have spoken with the general of the Tokyo army and the chief of the Fire Defense Agency. I understand that there are forces working in secret to threaten our nation. The Evangelist and the White Hoods…bugs that ignite infernals artificially…I've read the reports. The actions of these sinners are defiling the blessings of the sun god. All Special Fire Force companies are to consider the Evangelist a traitor and strike him down."
"Are there any objections?" asked the man alongside Raffles.
"You and your "sun god." This is stupid."
All attention turned to Benimaru as the man alongside Raffles snapped. "You…You stand before the emperor!"
"Benimaru Shinmon! Enough of your insolence! Apologize to his majesty before you face punishment at the hands of Gustav Honda!" the captain of Company 2 snapped.
"Shut up, Honda Gustav. My name is Shinmon Benimaru." Benimaru corrected.
"A protonationalist, eh?" asked the captain of Company 3, Dr. Giovanni.
Konro turned to his captain with a wary expression. "Waka…"
"Company 7 started out as a bunch of idiots from the Vigilante Corps." Benimaru raised to his feet. "I don't remember swearing fealty to any empire or sun god. Company 7's always done things our own way, and we're not gonna stop now." Benimaru turned to leave.
"You know, Nyuhebun is the same." Benimaru stopped when Elektra's voice reached him. Turning, he found her still seated, her back to him. "We have never and probably will never swear such a thing. No offense to the empire. That being said," Elektra glanced back at Benimaru over her shoulder. "There is such a thing as respect to your elders and you, my dear grumpy captain, did not show it."
"What was th – "
"However," Elektra cut off Benimaru as she turned to face the front once more. "I am in no position to judge. After all, everyone has two eyes, but no one has the same view. You, and everyone else I come into contact with, will do as you please, regardless of my opinion. Que sera sera."
Benimaru was at a loss for words. No one had ever dared to speak to him in such a way before, except for maybe Konro. Elektra simply offered her opinion, in front of an audience, without a care. Then she had dismissed him, redirecting her attention back to Raffles, as if Benimaru's interruption had never happened in the first place. Determined to find out who she was later, Benimaru left, Konro following.
Gustav yelled out to stop him. "Stop! Benimaru Shinmon! We're not finished here!"
"Enough." Raffles insisted. Gustav sat back down, though he didn't look happy about it. "At any rate, all companies are to join as one in pursuit of the Evangelist. I've seen the files. I understand we've found an unsullied flame. Shinra Kusakabe, Elektra Casteel, which one of you is it?"
Elektra didn't even pause. She pushed Shinra up. "I'm positive that it is him, sir."
Raffles didn't even question Elektra's confidence in her statement, merely turning his attention to Shinra. "You have an Adolla Burst, do you not?"
"That's what Rekka Hoshimiya told me. But sir…what is an Adolla Burst? Is it different from normal fire?" Shinra asked.
"An Adolla Burst is pure, undefiled flame…it occurs in a rare few Third Generation pyrokinetics. It is known as the Genesis Flame, the spark from which the sun god built this world. Did you not see it before you came here? Amaterasu, the Perpetual Thermal Energy Plant. Its flame is the source of energy for the entire Tokyo Empire. And that flame is itself an Adolla Burst." Raffles explained.
"The Evangelist is hunting for Adolla Bursts. We know that it is a flame of high purity, but its difference from common flames has yet to be explained by science." Dr. Giovanni remarked. "Has the Evangelist learned something about that difference?"
Something in Giovanni's tone just made Elektra's skin crawl, and not in the same way infernals did. She didn't like it at all, and her instincts were telling her to be cautious. She already felt suspicious of a man that was completely covered from head to toe. Just thinking about what he could be hiding underneath that clothe made her want to burn it off.
"The Evangelist will come after Fire Soldier Kusakabe. Shouldn't we put him in protective custody. Fire Soldier Casteel, too…just in case she is wrong, and it is her that has the Adolla Burst." Giovanni added.
It was official…Elektra hated him.
"Custody?! Please, no, sir! A fire soldier's job is to protect others. I can take care of myself!" Shinra protested.
"And I know it isn't me." Elektra added.
"How can you be so sure?" Giovanni asked.
"No offense, Captain, but I know myself far better than anyone else can. Trust me," Elektra turned to peg him with sharp eyes. "No flame that takes the form mine does could ever possibly be an unsullied flame. It's Shinra, this I know. Besides, Rekka Hoshimiya said that the fire that destroyed the military base in Nyuhebun and killed all but me was the doing of this Evangelist. If I truly had an Adolla Burst, do you not think they would have come after me in the ten years since?"
And that was that.
Her argument was too sound to leave room for Giovanni to insist.
"There's no reason for other companies to meddle in Company 8's affairs. Each company should prioritize locating and hunting down the White Hoods." Hibana remarked. Leaning towards Obi, she lowered her voice. "The Adolla Burst is a very rare ignition power that is still being studied. Company 3 wants him as a guinea pig. Elektra, too, since she was able to stop a transformation into an infernal."
Obi nodded, speaking up himself. "Company 8 will take responsibility for ensuring Fire Soldier Kusakabe and Fire Soldier Casteel's safety."
"The Adolla Burst is a scared flame, chose by God. I trust you will take good care of it." Raffles told Shinra.
"Yes, your majesty!"
The meeting was wrapped up after that, Elektra heaving a sigh. She had never been one that liked meetings, even back in Nyuhebun. Paperwork she could manage, work in the field, too, but meetings just made her tired. She followed Obi and Shinra out, Tamaki following behind her. Outside the cathedral Karim stopped them.
"I'm Karim Flam," he told Obi. "A lieutenant from Company 1."
"Shinra and Elektra told me about you." Obi replied in greeting.
"They can tell us to go after the Evangelist, but it won't be that easy to get all of the companies to work together." Karim remarked. "I want to know the truth about Rekka. I intend to cooperate with Company 8 in giving you my cooperation."
"I hear you're a quick thinker. I appreciate the help." Obi told him gratefully.
"How's Lieutenant Huo Yan doing?" Elektra asked.
"He's doing as well as he can in doing well in adjusting." Karim assured her.
"I'm glad. I'm still sorry I couldn't do more to save his arm."
"Nonsense. You saved his life. It's more than would've been possible without you." Karim told her.
Elektra gave him a sheepish smile. "I only did what I'm sure he would have done if our position had been reversed. I pray for his quick adjustment. He's strong, so I know he can do it."
Karim raised an eyebrow. "You pray?"
Elektra's nose crinkled in mirth. "Figure of speech. It's more along the lines of rooting from the peanut gallery."
She smiled brightly when that actually got a chuckle out of him. They parted ways with Karim, Elektra and Tamaki returning back to Company 8 with Obi while Shinra made a few stops for supplies. When he returned, Obi assigned them to searching reports from all of Company 8's calls, looking for clues to help track down the Evangelist.
It was slow going, boring work. The longer they worked at it, the more Arthur looked like he was going to die. Seeing the wilting look on Arthur's face, Maki suggested they take a break from the work. "Maybe we should take a little break."
"Aw! Come on, Arthur's almost dead!" Shinra complained. "Let's keep going!"
Shinra's stomach growled it's protest at that idea, making Elektra smile from her desk beside his. "Sounds like you could use a break too. I'm kind of hungry myself and if I sit at this desk any longer, my left side is going to give me fits of stiffness."
"Sister Iris should be getting back from visiting the bereaved about now. Should we girls make everyone some dinner?" Maki offered.
"I'm in!" Tamaki agreed.
"I think I'm going to take the time to do some stretches before stiffness sets into my joints." Elektra told her.
"That's okay." Maki turned to Hinawa as Elekta slipped out of her chair, stretching her arms far over her head. "Will that be alright, Lieutenant?"
"You three? Without Elektra? I'm not sure that's a good idea." Hinawa answered honestly, making Maki pout.
"Ugh, don't be so rude…we'll be fine." Maki insisted, leading Tamaki from the room.
Elektra had a feeling that wouldn't be the case. Famous last words, and all that. She moved into a series of stretches she had been given by a physical therapist after she healed from the fire, giving her already stiffening body a good stretch. Soon enough, Elektra was proven right when there was a yell from the kitchen. Elektra had been in the middle of stretching out her legs when she heard it and she and Shinra went to check on it. They found Tamaki in an apron and nothing else.
"How in the world did you end up dressed like that?" Maki demanded. "I saw you put the apron on over your jumpsuit!"
"Yeah, common sense like that doesn't apply to her." Shinra told Maki.
Hinawa walked in then. He took one look at the scene before him and sent Maki and Tamaki back to the office, taking over cooking himself. He ordered Shinra and Elektra to help, putting them to work peeling and chopping vegetables. It was quiet between them for a little bit before Hinawa spoke.
"Everything okay?"
"Huh? Oh, come on, sir! Even I can peel an onion." Shinra covered.
"That's not what he meant, Shinra, and you know it." Shinra glanced at Elektra as she quickly skinned a potato.
"If you can't tell me, you should go to the captain." Hinawa added, Shinra stopping in his work for a moment. For that pause in work, Shinra ended up with a knife to his throat. "Don't stop working."
"Yes, sir!"
"I like Company 8." Hinawa continued his work while he spoke. "And I want you new recruits to trust us too."
"Besides," Shinra turned to Elektra, finding her sweetly smiling at him. "We're friends, right? We're supposed to be there to help each other."
Elektra gave him a pat on the back before getting back to work. She turned her back to them as she continued with her assigned task. Hinawa speaking, had her shoulders straightening a bit more. "I was talking to you too, Elektra."
Elektra didn't turn to look at them, didn't pause in her work, but nor did she act like she didn't know what he was talking about. "I assume you're referring to me finding out that my parents' deaths were the work of this Evangelist."
"Yeah."
Elektra was quiet for a few moments, only the sound of the knife on the chopping board filling the air around them. Then she heaved a sigh. "I came to terms with my parents' deaths years ago. However, the whole thing came to be, my parents were gone, and no form of vengeance would ever bring them back or make me feel better about them being gone. It hurts now to know that someone did that to them on purpose, to all of them and, yes, I'm angry, but I'm more afraid that they could turn their attention back to Nyuhebun once again. So, while I will not suddenly go on some avenging hunt, I will see it to that we catch this Evangelist before they can hurt anyone else this way."
Shinra glanced over at Elektra as she moved to put diced vegetables next to Hinawa. There was a sad smile on her face, but there was none of the anger that Shinra himself felt when he thought about the Evangelist taking his brother from him. Seeing his look, Elektra gave him a smile.
"I will be fine. Losing my head now would not help us and I was raised to approach everything with a sense of logic. That's what I will do." She assured them and returned to quietly doing her task, humming lowly under her breath.
They remained in that silence only broken by the sounds of cooking and Elektra's light humming for the most part until the food was done. Hinawa and Shinra quickly figured out that Elektra really knew her way around a kitchen. When Shinra asked her how she cooked so well, she smiled and said, "I have younger foster siblings and use to help with the cooking for them."
The final result was a delicious spread of food that had Shinra staring in wonder.
"It looks so good!" Shinra exclaimed, practically drooling.
"It sure does." Elektra agreed.
"Take it to the mess hall." Hinawa told them.
"Lieutenant Hinawa, Elektra," The two turned to Shinra when called. "I like Company 8, too. I like it a lot. And I do trust Captain Obi. And you, Lieutenant Hinawa. Thank you, sir. And thank, Elektra. I'm happy to have a friend like you."
"I see…" was all Hinawa said.
Elektra gave him a smile. "Same here. I'm glad to know that not everyone outside Nyuhebun is as horrible as the one I met years ago."
"Huh?" Shinra and Hinawa watched as a sad smile morphed Elektra's scarred face, but she quickly covered it.
"Don't worry about it. It's just memories now. I'm glad to have a bad opinion proven wrong." Elektra smiled so sweetly that they were forced to drop the subject in fear of wiping that sweet smile from her face.
While they were curious and wanted to know what could cause Elektra to smile so sadly, they didn't want to hurt her by forcing her to relive an obviously traumatic memory. None of them ever wanted to darken Elektra's bright smile.
For now, they would let it be. Soon enough, they would know their answer and more and it would show them a lot about Elektra they didn't know.
After dinner, Hinawa presented them with a report he found that might contain a clue. It was from the first call Company 8 ever took and the victim had been a person dressed in all white with a red cross left nearby.
"Wow, blast from the past." Maki remarked as they all looked down at the report.
"This is the report of Company 8's first call?" Arthur asked.
"I see. That's interesting." Tamaki remarked.
"Come to think of it, how was Company 8 formed?" Shinra asked.
"I haven't heard anything about before I joined, either." Iris replied, now curious as well.
Hinawa and Obi shared a look, Obi clearing his throat to speak. "Good point. We do have some new members, and it will be good for them to know what Company 8 is all about." Obi turned to Hinawa. "Lieutenant! Tell them about it."
"Why me?"
"You're a better talker. That's an order."
Elektra bit back a laugh as Hinawa told them of how he had met Hinawa and how the two had come to form Company 8, ending with telling them how Maki was the first person Hinawa could think of when it came to finding people they could trust. Maki blushed at this point.
"What? I thought you invited me because I was a clump of muscles with nothing but strength going for me. I didn't know you said that about me, Lieutenant." Maki giggled.
"I'm just surprised to learn that Maki was ever thin." Arthur remarked thoughtlessly.
Maki put him in a head lock for it. Elektra shook her head, hands on her hips. "You asked for that, Arthur. How do you expect to win some girl's heart when you're so thoughtless and rude?"
Maki kept ahold of Arthur's hair as Obi called their attention back to him. "Thanks for that, Lieutenant. The spirit of Company 8 hasn't changed since the day it was formed! To the dying, we give our prayers and respect…and to the living, we give release from the flames. We value human life…that's what we're about."
Shinra knew, then, that he had to tell them about his brother. He couldn't keep it to himself any longer. "I don't know if this is the right time, but there's something I want to say, too. The thing is…"
Elektra eyes widened as Shinra told them all about his run-ins with Joker, how his brother might still be alive and involved with the Evangelist…everything. After all, Company 8 was like his family, he could trust them. When he was done, all eyes were on him.
"But you heard this all from Joker. Can you trust it?" Arthur asked.
"Joker's the guy who crashed the Rookie Games and put all those fire soldiers in danger." Tamaki pointed out. "Maybe he's just trying to confuse you again, by giving you weird information."
"I really hate to put a damper on your hope, Shinra, because I'd give just about anything to have some glimmer of hope that my parents were alive, but" Elektra heaved a sigh. "You need to consider that he just might be pulling your leg."
Shinra knew that they had a point. "I was told that my brother died in the fire twelve years ago…that not even his bones were left. After all this time, I can't believe it, either."
"Well then, you…" Tamaki cut off when Obi held up a hand.
"Shinra," Shinra straightened up. "Right now, it doesn't matter who gave you the information. Do you want to believe your brother is alive? Or would you rather not?"
"I want to believe it, sir!" Shinra declared.
Obi dropped a big hand on Shinra's head. "That's what I thought." Obi looped an arm around Shinra's shoulders. "And in that case, we're just gonna have to believe it, too."
"This doesn't change our mission to hunt down the Evangelist. But now we'll build our strategy around the assumption that Shinra's brother is with him." Hinawa added.
"I'll send out a request to the Oiorpata for any related information we Slades have. Maybe there's some kind of clue to lead us to Shinra's brother there." Elektra offered.
"What's an Oiorpata?" Arthur asked.
"She's the leader of the Slades. Oiorpata is her official title, though she has others, but her name is Themi." Elektra replied.
Shinra looked between them as they were already jumping to make plans for working their mission around Sho. It touched him to see how willing they were to help him. "Thank you very much, sir!"
"I meant to get to this sooner, but the investigation report is from soon after Sister Iris and Maki joined us. Do you all remember?" Hinawa asked. "It was a hot day, everybody was nervous because it was our first call. The victim – the one who went infernal – was wearing all white. The extinguishing went alright…but there were several things about that fire that didn't add up. There was an unusual red cross at the scene. The victim had no next of kin, but the company that employed him was in an awfully big hurry to retrieve it. After some digging, we found out that the Company's still in business. We can find it in Asakusa."
"So, in other words…" Elektra's eyes narrowed. "We're off to Company 7's jurisdiction."
"That's right."
With that confirmation, Elektra had a feeling that things were about to get a little hot under the collar. That being said…she was kind of looking forward to seeing Company 7's grumpy captain once more.
End
Kyandi: I really love getting to refer to Benimaru as a grumpy captain.
Elektra: It's going to be funnier to see his reaction to it.
Kyandi: And that is why I'm amused.
Elektra: You and I both.
Kyandi: I am going to have to do a little reworking on the next chapter because it's way too long, so it might take me a day or two before I post another chapter.
Elektra: As long as you don't disappear off the face of the planet for nearly a year again, I'm sure they won't mind.
Kyandi: I hope not. Anyway, please enjoy and review!
Elektra: We'll be back as soon as possible.
Kyandi: Bye-bye!