June 1, 2019
That Saturday, the volunteer firefighters at Station 151 met up for a training drill at 9 in the morning. Among them included Ruby, who had taken her physical a week prior. Leading the training exercise today was Volunteer Lieutenant Yamada Masako and Volunteer Captain Honda Yoshihisa. Yoshihisa, before the drill began, said to the group of 12 other firefighters who had shown up, "Okay, before we begin, I'd like to introduce our newest volunteer firefighter. Her name is Kurosawa Ruby, and she's a third-year in high school currently. She was issued gear just before we began, and we'll be bringing her down to the tower for our drill. Make her feel welcome, and teach her some things."
Ruby then said to the group somewhat nervously, "Uh... Hi... My name is Kurosawa Ruby. I'm 17 years old, and I go to a high school in Numazu. I used to go to Uranohoshi, where I was a school idol, before it closed. I know Kanan-chan and You-chan already. I hope I do well today."
"You'll be fine," Masako replied. "Trust me, Kurosawa-san. Everyone here was nervous when they first came here."
Then, Yoshihisa began to go over the training detail, "Okay, on Pumper 151, I'll be the officer. Kishou-kun (Chiba Kishou, Auxiliary), you're driving. You-kun, Kanan-kun and a paid guy will jump in the back. On Aerial 151, Lieutenant Yamada is up front. Ryou-kun (Yamada Ryou, Auxiliary), you're driving. Hoshi-kun, Toshiki-kun, and Kurosawa-san will jump in the back. On Ambulance 151, a paid guy will be up front, and Hiro-kun (Yamada Hiro, Auxiliary) is driving. On Rescue 151, Mamoru-kun (Yuma Mamoru, Interior) is up front, Hideki-kun (Matsumoto Hideki, Auxiliary) is driving, and Yuuko-kun is in the back (Kaneki Yuuko, Auxiliary). If we get a dive rescue or water rescue call, Ambulance 151 will go direct to the dock, and Pumper 151's crew will head back to the station to pick up Dive Rescue 151. Alright, now that we have that out of the way, let's talk about the drill. Today, we're gonna be doing auto extrication. We have a car waiting to be ripped apart. Stations 153 and 154 will also be there with their engines to rip apart a second car. They're gonna be using the second set of jaws on Rescue 151, while we'll use the first set. Stations 152, 156, and 155 are running a water relay training drill there today as well, so it's gonna be busy. Alright, go get dressed and get on the rigs."
You, Kanan, and Ruby all walked out together to their lockers. As Kanan and You seamlessly put their bunker gear on, Ruby had a little trouble with the coat at first, but got through it. They then hopped onto their assigned trucks. As Ruby sat in her seat, she thought to herself, "This is going to be so much fun!"
June 3, 2019
Yousuke heard a knock at the door to the Tsushima Residence. He ran over to it and looked through the peephole to find Hanamaru standing outside. He then opened the door and said to her, "Hey, Kunikida-san. I assume you're here to visit Yoshiko-oneesan?"
"Yep," the brunette replied as she took her shoes off and walked inside. "We're studying together for a test. Where is she?"
"She had to stop and get something for our mom," he replied as he grabbed a glass and poured himself some water. "You're free to stay here until she comes back. I don't mind." He thought to himself about Hanamaru, "Kunikida-san is kinda cute, not gonna lie. Agh, come on, Yousuke. She's a third-year high schooler and you're a third-year middle schooler."
Hanamaru said to him, "Are you still worried about that hot spring incident, zura?" She then said to herself, "Damn it, it slipped out again."
"What slipped out again?"
"The word "zura,"" she replied. "I've been really cutting down on it, but I still say it sometimes."
"Oh," he replied. "Yeah, uh, I'm not worrying about that anymore."
"Good," she replied. "Don't worry, Ruby-chan's fine. She just overreacted that night, that's all."
"Phew," he said to her in relief. "That's a relief."
Later that same day, as the volunteers mopped up at a call in regards to a contained oven fire, Ruby and Kanan went over some of the equipment on Pumper 151 after she put the last of the hose away. "Over here is where we keep some forcible entry tools, a hydrant wrench, and a spare SCBA for the driver." She then opened the compartment. "We have a halligan bar, a flathead and a pickhead axe, a crowbar, a FUBAR tool, and a pair of bolt cutters." She pointed out which one was which. "We do have name tags above each tool's spot, but it's nice to memorize them anyway. All of these tools are standard tools for firefighters, and aren't useful at just fires. We've used them for welfare checks, car accidents, lockouts, and more."
"Wow," Ruby replied as she looked on. "These tools look so cool." She then pulled out a halligan bar. "You'd think they're heavy, but they are actually pretty light." She then noticed Kanan looking at her and said, "Pigii! I'll put it back..."
"No, don't do that," Kanan replied to reassure her. "Take it out. Get a feel for the tool. It's the only way you'll get comfortable enough to use it."
"I see," Ruby replied as she admired it. "Hey, Kanan-chan, can you and You-chan maybe help me with exercise in an air pack and gear?"
"Of course," Kanan replied as she smiled. "I got a good idea for one, actually."
June 4, 2019
After school, around 7, You, Kanan, and Ruby met up at he foot of the long staircase to the temple where Kanan often worked out. All 3 had their turnout gear, a spare air pack from the station, and a spare air bottle. As Ruby put her gear and air pack on, she tightened the straps and turned her air pack on as You and Kanan did the same. You said to Ruby, "Ruby-chan, if at any point you don't feel comfortable or you feel sick, tell us and we'll stop, okay? There's no shame in tapping out. Your safety comes before everything else."
"Got it," Ruby replied as she undid her pigtails and pulled her hair back to put her mask on. She then pulled her hood up and put her helmet on before putting her gloves on last. She gave a thumbs-up to both of them as they did the same. "I'm as ready as I can ever be!" She then moved her arms and said, "Ganbaruby!"
You and Kanan then laughed as they clipped their mask's long tube into their belt-mounted regular as Ruby did the same. Kanan said to her, "Let's do this."
As Ruby felt the rush of air from the pack as she breathed, she said, "Woah... It feels weird at first." She then began to walk up the long set of stairs, determined to keep walking until she was out of air. You and Kanan walked up behind her and watched her.
"Remember," Kanan said. "We don't run up the stairs with our gear. We walk at a brisk pace." She then said to You, "I love doing this."
"Same here," You replied as she laughed.
After about 7 minutes of climbing, they reached the top of the stairs. Kanan said to Ruby, "Tell me how much air you have left. You had 300 bar of air to start. I'm at about 225 bar, and You-chan is at around 210 bar."
"I'm at 200 bar," Ruby replied. "I'm a bit tired, but I can keep going. Let's go back down."
"Agreed," You replied as the three began their journey back down the stairs, which only took 5 minutes.
At the bottom, Kanan read out, "I'm at 175 bar."
"About 160 bar for me," You replied.
"140 for me," Ruby replied. "Is that bad?"
"No," Kanan replied. "You're not used to wearing an air pack yet. Once you are, you'll use up less air. To be honest, you're doing very good for someone who's never worn one outside of a fit-test at a physical, probably due to the whole school idol thing."
"Probably." Ruby replied as she began to climb back up the stairs. This time, the journey took about 8 minutes.
At the top, Kanan read out, "I'm at exactly 125 bar."
You's was also vibrating. She read out, "110 bar here."
"80 bar here," Ruby replied. "This is exhausting."
Kanan asked her, "Do you need a break?"
Ruby simply shook her head and replied, "Hell no!" She then paused for a second in shock. "Did I just say that?"
"That's okay," You replied as she patted Ruby on he back. "You should see me swear up a storm sometimes. I say some pretty fucked up shit when I don't have to censor myself in certain company, Ruby-chan, and so does Kanan-chan. I've heard her say "fuck" more times in the short time I've been at Station 151 as a volunteer than I have in the past God knows how many damn years I've known her outside of the firehouse."
"It's true," Kanan replied as she laughed. "Especially when you have some fun with your boyfriend at the firehouse." She and You then laughed. "Trust me, you'll take the Lord's name in vain plenty of times, and you'll say a lot of vulgar words, when you're doing that kind of stuff with someone else."
Ruby blushed underneath her mask and replied, "Oh my... I've never really had much of an experience with swearing. Dia-oneechan said some bad words very rarely when she got really mad at something, but not as frequent as that, and definitely not like that." She then started back down the stairs. "Let's take a break after we go back down."
"Agreed," You replied as she and Kanan started back down, too.
