Before Kasai had known it, today is the Rookie Fire Soldier Games. All eight companies (with the exception of the 7th who don't partake in this kind of event) have gathered in an expansive field where the site of the event will be held.
The spectators will be members of each company as well as Haijima Industries and the Fire Defense Agency. Hence, Maki, Hinawa, and Obi will be watching rooting for their new additions. That would explain why Maki and Hinawa are dressed formally.
"Wow! Wone Wone Nyine!" Maki exclaimed.
"Wone Wone Nyine?"
The clueless Shinra and Arthur oddly look at the trio of characters consisting of a dog-faced old man, an actual dog, and a female white cat dressed in the regular gray firefighter uniforms in the order of 119 respectively. It is also the emergency number to call for help in dire times in Tokyo.
Kasai had seen their faces a few times on hazard signs and posters advertising safety instructions. Shinra and Arthur really need to get out more.
"You don't know them? They're the Fire Defense Agency's mascot characters. Wone Wone Nyine!"
"But one of them is just an older man." Shinra remarked, baffled.
"Ah, you mean Mamoru-kun?"
According to Maki, the story behind that was apparently the mascots started out as two dogs and one cat, but someone at the Fire Defense Agency complained about all three being animals. In the end, one of them was compromised and became a dog-faced older man which is Mamoru.
"What's wrong with having them be two dogs and a cat?" Shinra inquired.
"Huh? But Mamoru-kun is cute!"
Shinra pointed at said mascot. Maki nodded insistently even on the second time Shinra repeated "Eh?" and continued pointing at Mamoru. Maki's view on cute is a mystery to Shinra.
Kasai honestly didn't care. She was more interested in meeting other fellow Fire Soldiers from other companies.
Speaking of, she was wandering around the set up tents when she encountered a certain former classmate of her's.
"Hey, Ogun! How's Company 4 treating you?" Kasai went up to the young man.
His swirly irises lit up at the sight of the redhead. She was hiding her hair with her trademark crimson red hoodie like always, even after they became official firefighters.
"Kasai! Everything's been fine. Lieutenant Paat was wondering how you've been managing with Shinra since you two are working in Company 8. I heard Arthur also joined, too." He sent a sheepish smile.
Kasai's eyelids fell. "I missed the times when you were playing the middleman for them. Those idiots are at it with their usual antics as always. Unlike you, I don't have the patience to deal with their chaos."
Ogun chuckled. "I thought so. I'm glad to hear you guys are together, at least. It's almost like you three are inseparable."
"Actually, I don't apply to that inclusion. It's more of Shinra and Arthur than me." Kasai said. Bitter rivals who won't come to an agreement, especially over heroes versus knights.
"But enough with the same old same old," Kasai digress, "To answer Lieutenant Paat's question, we're all doing well at the 8th. Everyone is pretty nice and professional at their jobs. With a small group, we have an intimate relationship."
Ogun smiles. "I'm glad to hear that. I think it's nice to work with a smaller staff. You get to know people a lot more that way. The 4th has enough to raise an army, and I don't even know the guy who trains next to me."
Kasai reciprocated the smile. "I'm sure you can do it. You'll be fine."
The announcement of the competition commencement rang throughout the site.
Both former classmates perked up.
"Let's do our best as fellow rookie soldiers." Ogun lifted his palm.
Kasai smirked, the light of healthy determination flashing in her eyes. "I don't plan on beating around the bush."
They exchanged a high-five before leaving to retrieve their turnout gear.
When all participants gathered in their trademark blue stripe coats, they were lined up before a building stranded in the middle of the field. Kasai could already assume this is a simulation of sorts where they rescue people trapped in the building. The goal of this is to be the first to reach the crewman posing as an Infernal.
Kasai glances to either side. A bored shaggy blonde young man stood on her right baring the number 5 emblem. A soldier from Company 5, huh. That was the company she originally intended to join but couldn't get in. That was before she came to know the 8th a bit more that she liked being with Shinra, Obi, and the others.
Now on her left...
Kasai tried not to stare too much. A raven-haired pigtail girl was exposing her black bikini top and bare torso for the world to witness. Not only does it lower her defense immensely, but isn't she cold, too?
Must've been a real eye candy for the men.
"Is everyone ready?" The proctor began. All soldiers braced themselves. "Start!" He snapped his fingers and flames were generated.
Kasai stood knowing this is easy for someone with abilities like her's. That also includes...
Fists and feet bursted into flames. Two individuals propelled themselves into the air.
Shinra and Kasai shared eye contact. The former quirked a challenging grin and amplified his flames to further boost his speed. "Sorry, Kasai, but I'll be going ahead!"
Kasai cursed at her disadvantage. They both have the same usage of their pyrokinesis, yet she can't rival Shinra's speed. It could just be her lack of experience compared to the boy who has trained since he was a toddler and obtained his powers. Besides that, Kasai also presumed the power of her flames were as Maki would say, "soft". They were so soft that she bet Obi could take the flames head on and would only feel a tickle graze him.
Her frustration towards the fact fueled her flames. How irritating! She might as well just fight bare handed.
Kasai squinted against the breeze that pulled her hood back, apple red hair spilling behind her and her hood trailing behind. Shinra has already made his way inside.
Kasai lands on the ledge before entering through the gaping window pane. Shinra couldn't have gone too far...
She treads down the hall straight ahead where Shinra was last seen. The inside is pitch black if it weren't for the bright blue stripes on her coat glowing.
Kasai frowned. For a simulation, the fire scene is too quiet. Wouldn't your typical Infernal rampage inside the facility already? The survivors should be scrambling for help, and that's where she comes in to save them.
Yet the scene is black. No signs of life. There was only neon blue lights.
Kasai proceeds with caution. How unsettling.
From the end of the hall she spotted a blue light. That must be Shinra.
Flames sprout underneath the light. Shinra activated his pyrokinesis? Against who? Could it be a threat who infiltrated the Games?
Kasai sprinted into a dash. Over the clicking heels pounding the floor, she sharpened her ears and listened to the crackling sound strikingly familiar to explosive powder. It was the same one that exploded the roof of Mikako's residence.
Kasai thrusted her arm for the back of Shinra's collar and pulled him behind her as she counterattacks the flow of black sand with her plume of orange flames. She shielded her face from the burst of black smoke with the same arm.
Suddenly the cloud cleared and an arm swings sideways toward her head. Kasai deflects it with the raised arm she held. Another arm lunges for her other side until Kasai held the curled fist with her whole hand and kept it in place. She has a close up of the suspect's face.
A man wearing a black patterned bandana across the left side of the face bared a menacing grin chewing a cigarette between his teeth. Concentric black circular irises in a pool of indigo zeroed in on the new presence.
Shinra coughed from the abrupt tug of his collar suffocating his neck. He then immediately recognized the girl who had saved him from an explosion to the face.
"Kasai!" He exclaimed.
Kasai's grip on the man's curled fist tightened as a bead of sweat cooled her clenching brows. She was struggling to resist the raw strength of a grown man against a little girl.
The man sneered. He did wonder how she knew when to rescue the Devil boy from the ashes they they posses no knowledge of. "Looks like I caught a sparrow."
Kasai gritted her teeth inside her pursed lips. She lit her palm and hand on fire. Her eyes widened by the unfazed reaction. She was burning his fist and he didn't flinch. A third generation?
His sneer fell flat. "Is that supposed to be your firepower?"
Kasai thrusted her free arm behind her. The man pulled his caged fist back, throwing her off guard at the tug of her limb making her wince from the pull of her muscles torn unnaturally. The man slipped from her grip and swung his arm from below to deliver an uppercut to her torso and to the ceiling.
Kasai choked on her lungs. She gasped upon the collision of her back to the ceiling. This guy is bad news. No matter how strong Shinra's flames are, no matter how fast he is, neither he nor Kasai together can detain him! Just who is he?
Kasai's body surrenders to gravity. Before she could collapse to the floor, Shinra had caught her. He flew to the other side of the battlefield and landed safely with the girl in his arms.
"Kasai! You okay?"
Kasai had left her conscious for a split moment before she stiffly nodded, her mind still wrapping her head through how fast and sudden everything was. "Y-Yeah, thanks, Shinra..."
She quickly gets off him and the two were back on their feet, side by side facing the lone threat disrupting the Rookie Games.
"Who are you to ruin the Games and harm two crewmen on top of that?" Kasai demanded, fists held up in a fighting stance. "You even attacked my colleague and fellow firefighter. What's your beef with him?"
He perpetually sneered. "Angel and Devil..." The man in black blew a whiff of smoke from his cigarette. The ashy wisps somehow trailed and formed into the aforementioned words. "A peculiar pair who get along so well. Or are they really?"
Shinra and Kasai simultaneously shot forward with their feet and hands to respectively kick and punch the man without uttering a word. He demonstrates unspoken flexibility when he simply leaned back to avoid their attack. When the two teens bounce back in midair to attack again, the adult had already returned standing upright and swiped his hand in a wide arc.
Flames manifested in the shape of cards flew straight for them. They braced for the contact and returned to the floor after shrugging off traces of soot and heat left by the cards.
"Stop spouting riddles like a know-it-all, damn it!" Kasai retorted. This fight is getting nowhere, and neither was this interrogation. Also, what was he implying about her and Shinra's friendship? What would he know about them?
"Then how much do you two really know, I wonder? Are you self-aware of the secrets this world is hiding? The secrets adults hide with their lies and false answers?"
Kasai frowned. As much as she hates to admit it, they knew little to none. Pretty much the whole world does not know. Except this guy. "I don't know what you're trying to start, but that doesn't excuse you from assaulting the innocent and disrupting the Games."
"Would you believe me when I said that the Devil's brother is still alive?" The man suddenly asked.
Kasai heard of Shinra's little brother from the boy himself. The brother, Shō, is apparently the same age as Kaen, both being 13 and four years younger than their older siblings. They once talked about the idea of their little brothers becoming friends like Shinra and Kasai are if Shō was alive and Kaen did not Infernalize. She was the only one whom Shinra had confided into about the truth behind the false fabricated rumors.
Kasai would not want to believe it from someone hostile like him. Yet when she glanced to Shinra for his reaction, the hesitance wavering in his eyes revealed more than what words can say.
She pursed her lips and reverted her gaze to the third party. "Is that why you're here? To taunt his past and convince him to join your side?"
"You catch on quick, a few steps ahead, actually." The man admitted. She was no simple-minded girl.
Kasai dryly smirked. "I don't know where or how you know that, assuming it's true, but I don't suppose you have a tidbit to share for me? Mister Wise-Guy?"
He grinned. "Interesting thought, but I came only for the Devil. An Angel would not mix well with our kind."
"Then you're talking to the wrong guy, also. Because Shinra is a hero, not a devil!"
Kasai leaned to Shinra for him to hear, "You take the crewmen out. I'll keep this guy occupied." With his flames, he can carry both of them out. Kasai can't as her hands and arms are required to lift people.
Before he could protest, Kasai rushed forward.
"Kasai!"
The man generated his cards and swipes them. Kasai ducked low and sweeps a low kick. He leaps above the arc. In that instance, Kasai's hand supporting her body on the floor bursted into a pillar of flames. She shot a knee for his face. He dodged it with ease.
Kasai twisted and lands safely on the ceiling. Half-lidded neon green eyes bored their light V irises coolly at the hostile threat. Her red locks flowed freely from her upside down position.
The man whistled. "How cool."
He sliced the air with one card. However, he threw it in the opposite direction...
Kasai dilated her eyes. Before she could quickly propel after the card, a plasma blade cuts it before it would hit their target.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, 'Infernal'."
"Arthur!"
Said blond has arrived! Along with... the girl whom Kasai recognized wearing a bikini underneath the open turnout coat?
"A suspicious man has snuck into the games facility! He's brought harm to two crewmen who are now injured! Go report this to the captains outside!" Shinra relayed.
"What?!" Arthur's formerly shocked expression turned confident. "Don't lie to me. I'm gonna be the winner."
"Huh?!"
"I'm gonna catch him!" Arthur says as he charges in with Excalibur in hand.
"Oh, you stupid knight!" Cried an exasperated Shinra. Arthur really doesn't listen to what he says. If Kasai was the one to say it, then Arthur would have believed her, no questions asked.
Why would Shinra even lie about something serious? He's not a cheater. That would go against his heroic morals and virtue. Of course, Arthur would disagree with the whole "hero charade".
As Arthur attempts to land a blow on the man who continues to evade with graceful ease, Kasai tried to make up for Arthur's misses by following up with her punches. Despite their teamwork against a single man, he has yet to receive a scratch, much less break a sweat. He's no ordinary enemy. Where did he obtain these skills?
When Arthur and Kasai fell back for a momentary pause (they knew they were attacking to no avail even when they tried to not give him a chance for a breather), the cat lady dashed into the fray.
"Don't forget about me!" Pink red cat ears protruding from the crown of her head sprouted along with two forked tails that extended and set the man ablaze.
Kasai was watching the man's reaction the entire time. He didn't even flinch, the same way when she used her flames on his fist. Instead, a black powder substance wafted toward the cat girl's unsuspecting face. Kasai leaped to grab and propel themselves out of the explosion's hit range. They land safely on the floor and away from the explosion. Pitch black smoke swarms the room.
"They're taking things this far in the Rookie Games?" The cat girl said.
"Like I told you, the competition is on hold!" Shinra repeats.
When the clouds eventually dispersed, the man was revealed to have two tiny glass bottles spilling ashes.
"Shinra, if you insist on being a hero, then go ahead and try to rescue every last person here."
Everyone watched as the ashes crept their way to the ceiling. Kasai knew it. This is definitely the same third party who disrupted the fire scene at Mikako's residence. Before they could chase the man down, he had disappeared into the darkness and left a mess for them to clean up.
"We have to get out of here, now! It's gonna explode!" Shinra told everyone.
As he went to retrieve the unconscious crewman, Kasai ordered, "Arthur, cut through the ceiling! The only way is up!"
He activated Excalibur. "As you command, princess." He leaped to cut a triangle above them. When the carved triangle did not collapse, Arthur closed his eyes and smirked. "Hmph, my cuts were too brilliant to let the ceiling fall down."
"Move it! We're busting through the ceiling, right?" The cat girl moved Arthur aside and unleashed her third generation powers. The fiery forked tails surge from her behind and punched the metal plate out.
"All right! Cat lady, you grab onto me! Arthur, Shinra!" Kasai told them, turning her back to the pigtail girl in open invitation. Without a word, she clung to Kasai's back like a koala and wrapped her arms around her neck securely. Arthur leaped onto Shinra and the pair of flighty pyrokinetic users immediately rocketed out of the facility as fast as they could before the massive explosion would directly hit them.
Kasai has yet to reach Shinra's unmatched speed, but this is one of the times where she has to will her resolve through her flames until she almost runs out of oxygen to use.
Faster... Faster!
Kasai's hands twitched. Despite the pressure straining her fingers, she is not going to half-ass it to the very end!
As fast as they could be, they cannot avoid the explosion that caught up to them. Shinra had almost lost his grip on the crewmen but the same cannot be said for Arthur and the cat lady. Fortunately he and Kasai have the mobility in midair. Shinra clutched the crewmen tightly in his hands. "Arthur! Cat lady!"
Kasai sees the cat lady flailing for help while Arthur had surrendered to his free falling fate.
Before Kasai could try to reach for the girl first, a man leaped into the sky and caught her in his arms.
A burning right eye behind an eyepatch and the number 1 emblem on his freely draped turnout coat... She recognized his profile. This man is the captain of Company 1, Leonardo Burns!
"You get those two safely down on the ground," Burns said to Shinra before glancing to the free falling Kasai above him, "You do the same for your fellow 8th friend over there."
Kasai met his gaze evenly through the flying debris. She was planning on that. "Right!"
The redhead flew for Arthur and dove underneath him. "Grab on!" She said.
"A knight does not have the princess carry him-"
"Neither would a knight refuse an order from the princess! Come on!"
"Yes, ma'am."
Arthur coiled his arms over Kasai's shoulders and around her neck. As they arrive the bottom, Kasai softens the landing along with her flames. The moment she lands the soles of her shoes on the soft earthy surface, she collapsed, dragging Arthur down with her who staggered to his feet before he was about to topple behind her. The blond plays the staggering off coolly.
Kasai heaved a long sigh of relief. The fight with the mysterious guy was rather intense. Now she's just glad that was over.
"Shinra! Kasai!" Captain Obi ran up to the pair still collapsed on the floor. They were exhausted, that was without a doubt.
Obi crouched and ruffled their heads. "I saw that! You two saved all four of them! You're heroes, you know that?"
The praise resonated more with Shinra, but Kasai was delighted nonetheless. She thought she didn't do much compared to Shinra, though, but said nothing against that.
They cast a quick grin to each other and smiled to their captain. "Thank you very much!"
Thus, the Rookie Games ended on an unfortunate notice as fire extinguishers sprayed upon the fire burning the top of the building.
~Fire Force~
Unsurprisingly, there was no news of yesterday's incident regarding the mysterious man named Joker who infiltrated the Rookie Games. The media does hide that kind of stuff, Kasai thought to herself as she wrote in her journal detailing the aforementioned incident, squeezing a hand grip on her other hand.
She is still keeping record of her days for Kaen since day one of her training. Only about less than half of the book is written. She is not sure if that's a good or bad thing.
The office telophone trills the office room.
Arthur picks it up. "This is Arthur Boyle, lord of Camelot. What is the nature of your message?"
As he addressed the title, Maki turned to him horrified. The next second, she hand chopped his head, telephone now to her ear. "I'm sorry about that. Special Fire Force Company 8."
From her desk next to Maki's, Kasai flatly watched this interaction unfold before writing, Onions were sliced that day.
When Maki was done over the phone, she reports that a dog got caught up in a tree and can't get back down again. Usually that kind of task is for the regular firefighters, but the company gets calls mistaking Fire Soldiers for the normal firefighters all the time.
Maki asked Shinra and Arthur particularly because they haven't kept up on their paperwork. They wouldn't clear that anytime soon.
"Kasai and I will take care of the rest of that." The young woman offered.
Kasai internally heaved her shoulders in exasperation. Even if Kasai does her work, that doesn't mean she enjoys it. Who would become a Fire Soldier for papers?
The fact that Arthur was visibly joyous to get his head out of the heaps of paperwork made her irritated. Sometimes not doing your work is a reward in itself, huh. Just like how being late instead of early sometimes works out in the end. Why did she have to be so diligent?
Shinra and Arthur volunteered to go, though the latter was just intent on an excuse to avoid paperwork.
"Shouldn't we report this to Lieutenant beforehand?" Kasai inquired after the pair just left the room. She had just realized that.
Maki dismissed her. "It's just a dog rescue. Plus," she paled a few shades, "how can I report a minor issue to him? He'd get angry with me!"
Kasai could see that happening. Hinawa would have opposed the two boys going for such a simple task when they're needed elsewhere.
"If you say so..." Kasai said. She set aside her journal and plucked a newspaper she had neglected to read today while Maki pulled out some of Arthur's untouched work on top of her desk.
There was an article she had marked that was relevant and that was the case of Setsuo Miyamoto. The man who was a firefighter but killed four people on a spree... Ever since that unfortunate incident, people's discontent for the Fire Defense Agency and firefighters has grown. It turns out his verdict is scheduled to be announced today. Word is that he will probably be found not guilty for psychiatric reasons.
Kasai doesn't understand the decision if he were to actually be declared not guilty. Murder -especially blatant indiscriminate sprees- is inexcusable. There should be no question to send this man to jail. She speculated that the decision is likely bribed or negotiated with the judge by the defendant. Corruption of a lawful government is a black canvas painted thickly in white to hide even the most diminutive black spots.
Kasai had once opted to go visit the trial in action, but she is a Fire Soldier required to be ready to be deployed once an Infernal in the 8th's jurisdiction is reported. She can't leave her station.
Who would have thought this would be the same man who would Infernalize this very day?
Everyone was preparing their equipment and slipping their uniforms on when Maki bursted into the room to report that the Infernal apparently has self-awareness.
Kasai expressed surprise. That is just like Kaen, who had some of his personality retained.
"Where are Shinra and Arthur?" Hinawa asked.
There was no immediate response as Maki avoided his gaze.
In turn, Kasai avoided her eye contact. This is exactly why Fire Soldiers are to be employed for Infernal missions instead of a dog rescue; you never know when the spontaneous combustion occurs.
Kasai dared to look back. The puppy eyes begging for help are hard to resist. She does understand the terror of facing Hinawa's wrath, but there are times when she believes people have to live independently without her assistance. What would Maki have done if she was not here?
"Well?" Hinawa prompted, this time sternly as time is not merciful for an answer. Maki flinched. She tapped her index fingers tentatively while flitting her eyes everywhere but the lieutenant.
They're crunched on time. Kasai finally surrendered and spoke up for the woman. She sometimes hates being a big softie. "Actually..."
~Fire Force~
"I'm sorry, Kasai, you've done so much for me and even risked yourself... Ramen is on me. Forgive me..." Maki mumbled to herself as her hands were clasped for mercy. She feels so bad for making the new recruit take on her responsibility even though she didn't have to. Yet she did, and that makes Maki devastated.
Company 8 drove to their destination in Taito-ku, Ueno district in the Matchbox vehicle. As they are a few ways away, Kasai was allowed to proceed ahead by Hinawa and rocketed towards where the Infernal is.
Kasai soared past buildings with her flames pushing behind her. Civilians on the ground had took notice of her flight and watched with awe as the third generation continued flying. It could also be her exposed bright red hair, but she doesn't pay mind to it now. She has to focus on the mission.
"Kasai!"
Said girl looks back. Shinra has caught up to speed with her with Arthur on his back. Why, she is not going to ask. "Good timing, the target has a civilian captive! Let's get the jump on him!"
The three arrive at the Ueno District Court.
"Stop!"
Shinra and Kasai kicked and punched the Infernal Miyamoto off the hostage. Arthur rolled off Shinra along with the Infernal and both came to a stop. Before Miyamoto could grasp the new arrivals, Arthur swung the back of his fist into his black head and wide set of white teeth.
The force was enough to send him flying.
When he stood back up, the boys deliver a kick to his head from above while Kasai punched his torso; they did not spare him a moment to even finish his exclamation.
"What the hell is your problem?!" Infernal Miyamoto finally said.
"Because of you, Mamoru-kun got hoorayed up into a tree!" Arthur accused.
A question mark float above Kasai's head. "Hoorayed"? Mamoru? Weren't they supposed to rescue a dog from a tree? Unless Mamoru was the "dog" that needed help?
"Ah, so you're Special Fire Soldiers. You're a murderous gang of bogus helper kids, aren't you? How nice. I'm a bit jealous." Traces of ember trailed the tip of Miyamoto's tongue that licked his wide straight teeth.
"We're here, too!" Maki had arrived without notice and thrusted a fireball at the Infernal, however he punched Maki's Sputter Comet that dispersed into thin air, much to her loss.
To think a sentient Infernal's body could transform this powerful...
"So there's no way to escape, eh? All right! I surrender!" Miyamoto raised his hands in the air in the gesture.
Kasai's expression darkened.
What?
"If you're not a murderous gang, then you'll let me off, right? I was found not guilty at my trial. You can't very well kill me. Right?"
A piece of the head was blown away, courtesy of Hinawa's bullet shot from his pistol. He walks up to him with the gun pointed at him. "Unfortunately, I'm not so good-natured as you pardon scum like you."
Miyamoto laughed. "You really are a gang of murderers!" A pair of flames manifested in rings around his wrists before he spun to deliver a wave of fire at Hinawa. When Kasai noticed the Infernal leaping into the air and away from the company she immediately chases after him.
"Not so fast!" Kasai pursues Miyamoto's tail. "I won't let you do what you want!"
Shinra looks back. "Captain Obi!"
"After him, Shinra! You and Kasai are the only ones who can catch up to him!" Obi ordered.
"But, sir, he's...self-aware."
"He's no longer human. I know how you feel, but..."
"Captain..." Hinawa lifted his hand to stop him before continuing to say, "Shinra... pay no heed to what he says. Dispose of him." He pats the boy's back. "Okay, get going!"
"Yes, sir!" With firm assurance from the lieutenant, Shinra went up and away to the direction where Miyamoto was last seen.
Shinra squinted against the breeze. Kasai must have understood the same thing when she didn't hesitate to go put the Infernal to rest. With such unwavering will, he knew what fostered that was always in her mind.
~Fire Force~
Kasai wound up tailing Miyamoto to Akihabara district where murky gray rain clouds hail the formerly blue skies. She recalled a report of a heavy rain warning around this time for the 4th District of the Tokyo Empire's northern area.
"You're damn persistent, girlie!" Miyamoto said upon landing in the middle of the road from the sky.
Everyone in immediate vicinity flees from the sight of an Infernal, abandoning their vehicles and things to save their lives from the threat.
Kasai swoops in to deliver a punch. Miyamoto also attempts to punch back, however Kasai is far agile and flexible. Her palms bursted as her body changed direction above his arm reach and out of his grasp. She then flipped to unleash a mighty swing of her heel downwards to his skull (or what sufficed for his head). Miyamoto plummets to the concrete underneath Kasai's boots.
The Infernal quickly recovered and pried his body off the road along with Kasai's foot. She retreats to a safe distance from him who is now perched atop an abandoned car.
"Do you have any idea how many people I rescued in my firefighter days? You can't fault me for killing a few of them in my Infernal days, right?" Miyamoto said. Though fortunately he hasn't killed any innocent people due to Kasai's persistence catching up to him, the idea of him going on a spree as though it's a fair trade infuriates her to the core.
"You killed them during your firefighter days." Kasai said as a matter of fact, frowning deeply at the crime he committed.
"Can't you do addition and subtraction, idiot? Those don't balance out the number I saved!" Miyamoto hammered the ground to send a shockwave that sent the car flying to her.
Kasai pulled her leather gloves. She drew her right leg back and swung her fist low to uppercut the car straight up to the skies.
"Shinra!" She cried.
Said boy arrives from above to generate the flames from his feet and shot at the car. The car dives toward the earth and crashed from the frontside just before the toppled Miyamoto who collapsed from the buckling of his knees at the sheer force a pair of teenage kids can create.
Rain poured on the black paved road.
A pair of glowing red eyes peer down at Miyamoto from his crouch above the upright standing car, sharp grinning teeth menacing within the black silhouette obscuring his visage.
"A-A devil..."
Shinra stands up. "Wrong. I'm a hero!" He proudly declared.
Kasai and Shinra approach from either side of the road and close in on the Infernal as they chanted.
"The flame is the soul's breath." Kasai began.
"The black smoke is the soul's release." Shinra continued. "Sister is not here to offer a prayer, but this is good enough for you."
"W-Wait! Hold on a second!" Miyamoto pleads. "I-I'm still afraid to die! At least let my end be met with a sister's prayer of peace! Please!" He made the Latom prayer with his hands.
Shinra made a face. He then glanced to Kasai who stood on the opposite end. Her fists were clenched so tightly he would assume they were turning bone white under her gloves.
Despite the trembling fists, Kasai spoke, "Don't worry. I'm a sister in training. I memorized the prayer." Her eyes were unreadable under the shadows of her soaked crimson hood, and her voice is strangely calm.
Shinra widen his eyes.
"R-Really? I suppose there are a few sisters who can pray and fight as a Fire Soldier. You do look like the part." Miyamoto admits. He's thrown off by the inconvenience to mention a sister when there is one right before him. Damn, looks like that lie threw him under the rug.
What he didn't suspect was that he fell right into her trap.
"Ashes thou wert and art." Kasai followed up where they left off and continued treading towards the Infernalized man.
"H-Hold up!"
Kasai's fists were set ablaze. Orange flames danced around them.
"I can't take a sister-in-training's words! You're not certified! I can't return to the raging flames peacefully!" Miyamoto said.
"Even if the others get here, how do we know you won't intend to harm Sister?" Kasai retorted coolly. "Maybe you hoped to have her hostage and threaten to rob her life before us firefighters."
"The moment you went on a spree and spouted fair number trade-off nonsense, your judgement was already decided." She removed her hood in one clean sweep. Neon green eyes penetrated the darkness brought by the rain clouds.
"I am Valkyrie, one who chooses who may die and who may live."
If Miyamoto had eyes, they would be wide in shock. What he saw in place of Kasai's face was a completely different person.
A smile whose seemingly innocent charms would have struck anyone as angelic. Yet under the holy light, the faintest corners of the lips were curled sharply in a menacing glare of taunting provocation. Who is this person he's staring at right now? Whose smile does it belong to?
His black jaw slackened. "A-An angel...?"
Kasai stared her solemn blank eyes at him, unsuspecting of the vision he's seeing right now. "Some do call me an Angel; a 'bright burning maiden'. Today you'll learn that angels are not merciful."
Kasai was kneeling before the Infernal by the time she said this. She sharply drew her burning fist back.
A flash of bright blue glinted from the corner of her eye.
Kasai cursed. She pulled her punch back and leaped back to avoid three Fire Soldiers strapping the Infernal in a fire-resistant blanket in one swift capture. What the hell?
"Hey, what is this?! Let me go!" Miyamoto protested.
Suddenly Kasai acknowledged the presence of a woman wielding black fans set on fire at the ends. When did she arrive? Kasai didn't even see where she had come from!
"Special Fire Force Company 5 Captain, Princess Hibana." The young woman introduced curtly before ordering her men to take the Infernal away.
"Hold it! The 8th is putting him to rest!" Shinra told Hibana. "Don't try to swoop in and do whatever you feel like!"
"I am a captain. Are you defying me?"
"You are not my superior!"
Kasai stifled a gasp as she watched Shinra collapse to the floor and steam rising from his body. Was that part of Hibana's pyrokinesis?
"Shinra-!"
Suddenly three weights pressed on top of her. Before she knew it, she was pinned to the wet concrete by three of Hibana's men, her wrists cuffed behind her. These Company 5 people love to appear from the skies, don't they?
Kasai struggles to pry them off her, however three grown men may prove a little too much for one little girl of her size. "What's the meaning of this?!"
Hibana glanced to the redhead slightly over her shoulder while preoccupied with Shinra now pinned by three identical women with curvaceous bodies. "Valkyrie, the Bright Burning Maiden. I am rather intrigued by you for reasons you don't need to know."
"Huh?" The 5th captain has business with a rookie soldier? Well, Kasai is not exactly your ordinary soldier based on looks alone, to be honest.
"Now you're gonna kidnap one of the 8th's members? The Infernal is one thing, but leave Kasai out of this!" Shinra spoke up.
From the sidelines, a child yelped when he fell to the muddy road. A firefighter just shoved a boy as he was trying to get through the crowd. What is this?
Hands and feet twitched and burned faintly.
"Hey! Fire Soldiers are supposed to keep the people safe, right? What are you guys at the 5th doing?!" Shinra called out.
Kasai can hear one of the triplet blonde women mutter to him, "It's one kid who fell on his behind. It's not like he got burned."
Kasai's eyes flared widely. She thinks of Kaen in place of the kid. The image of her brother being pushed aside roughly by a figure meant to protect the people... That only fanned her rage at the absurdity Company 5's mindset possess. So if a person burns, they're obligated to help within their Fire Soldier duties yet when a powerless kid could have potentially gotten hurt from a shrug they gloss that over?
Palms and feet burst in flames. Shinra incorporated his breakdance with his flames and warded the women off him while Kasai simply threatened the men on top of her with her intense sweltering heat unleashed from her anger. She unshackled their grips off her wrists and bounced away with trails of orange plumes behind her.
"You'd even joke about burning a kid, lady? Let me show you what a Fire Soldier is." Shinra slowly stands up, his flames spiraling around him in a defensive shield as he then pointed at her, "Bring it on, 5th! I, Shinra Kusakabe, Second Class Fire Soldier from the 8th, will take you on!"
Kasai landed by Shinra's side. The 5th are looking eager to start a fight, despite both sides being affiliated in the same firefighter department. Though she shares Shinra's sentiment, she also would not want a brawl to break out between fire companies.
A black box with a white 08 drove between them and pulled over to a stop. Obi climbed out of the Matchbox just in time to stop the battle before it began.
The heavy rainfall shortly ended within the span of confronting the Infernalized Miyamoto and the sudden visit from Company 5.
"It's unusual for an Infernal to be as self-aware as this one. It would also be a waste to dispose of him like this. The 5th will secure him." Hibana declared.
"This is the 8th's jurisdiction. Don't you think you're being a bit presumptuous?"
"The moment he Infernalized, he became officially deceased, and putting him to rest will return him to ashes. That being the case, I see no problem in taking his body in as-is. Besides, the 8th is a new facility; I understand you don't even have a science team. This is a precious specimen."
Hibana held her black and red fan below her nose. "Wouldn't taking him back to the 5th represent an important step toward solving the mystery of human combustion?"
Kasai couldn't find an argument against that. She was so caught up on how the Infernal's character of an irredeemable scum was that she almost didn't consider letting him live purely for research. In that case, she would let that slide, as begrudging she is after confronting Miyamoto only to have him snatched by an outside company.
"You intend to share the results of your investigation with us, yes?" Obi asked.
"Absolutely I will!" Hibana replied merrily. That unnerved Kasai.
Obi closed his eyes. "Very well. The 5th can take over from here."
Kasai was honestly a little disappointed. She went through that wild goose chase for this? She even almost popped a vein from the boiling rage incurred by the Infernal. Now that the results came to this, she feels twice as exhausted.
"Who, how lame." A large bubble expanded from chewed gum was sealed and floated into the air. It belonged to a shaggy blond man... Wasn't he the one who was next to Kasai from the Rookie Games?
Just as Kasai made this realization, she, along with Shinra and Arthur, were already giving him dirty looks. They didn't like the implication behind that bored tone.
"The captain of the 8th is a no-talent nobody, right?" He mocks, "Seriously lame."
The inflated bubblegum exploded.
"What did you say?!" "You wanna go?!"
Kasai bristled from her spot. Obi can crush his skull with his bare hand alone! He's just too nice to do that, even to a fellow firefighter who insulted him right before his very company. What does the blond have to make up for that? Not even his pyrokinesis -whatever it is- could overthrow all of Obi's admirable qualities befitting of a captain. He's strong even without a flame ability, and that she highly respects Obi for.
Despite Shinra grabbing hold of his turnout coat collar and Arthur sizing him up, the man continued, "Now Captain Nobody's flunkies are butting in. Second-class nobodies."
"Why, you! I'll teach you!" "You're screwing with the wrong man!"
Maki comes over to appease Shinra and Arthur. Along the line, Maki punched the blond 5th member in the gut. He doubled over and was reduced to tears and silenced by the pressure. Shinra and Arthur leaned over at the sight of the crippled young man in mild confusion and awe.
Maki was returning to the 8th's side with a merry smile until she came face to face with the silent unreadable Hinawa. The brunet man lifted a thumbs up, to which Maki returned with one of her own. A good deed accomplished today, yes.
Kasai allowed a smirk to crawl her lips. Serves him right. Mess with their captain, they'll be messing with the 8th as a whole.
"Obi, if a Fire Soldier starts sticking his nose in too deep, it won't be the fire, but himself, that gets extinguished." Hibana warns.
"You don't say. So I'm blowing smoke in others' faces, am I? Then again, the flames of the 8th won't be put out so easily." Obi said confidently.
Hibana sneered. She then shared eye contact with Iris. An unspoken connection was exchanged between them before Hibana broke it off to cast a fleeting glance to Kasai who was standing beside the sister the whole time.
Kasai evenly meets her pink flower irises surrounded by light blue with her verdant green ones. To think she wanted to join Company 5... Now she has no regrets of her decision to allow herself into the 8th.
Hibana turns her back to Company 8. "Special Fire Force Company 5, we're heading home!"
[Ashes and Ashes]
Random Trivia Corner - Kasai's eyesight is 1.5.