Author's Notes: Quick shout out to Trey Alexander and YaoiLovinKitsune! Thanks for the reviews and support! Thank you also to those who have followed and favorited. Here's another chapter for ya. I'm going to do my best to update at least once a month in addition to the other stories I'm writing. Hope you enjoy the new chapter!
Princess Hibana entered Akitaru Obi's office the next morning without knocking and without announcing her presence. As usual, Obi was lifting weights and Hinawa was cleaning a gun from his collection. Iris was most likely performing her cleansing ritual after yesterday's run in with the Infernals.
"Where is Phoenix?" she asked, concerned by her absence. She had not see her anywhere in the Cathedral on her way to the office.
"She's still sleeping," Obi answered without ceasing his arm curls with the gigantic free weights. "She's been working hard. Then after yesterday - "
"What exactly happened yesterday?" the woman's former Captain demanded, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"Is there something you should have told us about her?" Hinawa inquired, glaring at her. His eyes were obscured by the reflection of the newly replaced fluorescent lights on his lenses, but his annoyance was clear.
"Where is she?"
Captain Obi put down the weights. "Follow me."
When they reached Phoenix's room, he knocked on the unlocked door which swung open slightly. The door hit something and closed back.
Princess Hibana stepped in front of him, tentatively pushing open the door with her fingertips. After opening mere inches, it refused to move any further due to a solid object behind it. She peeked through the crack to see Phoenix lying on the floor, her arm extended behind the door which was the object acting as a doorstop.
Lowering herself to a crouching position, Hibana reached through the small gap to grab Phoenix's forearm to move it and open the door. Not bothering to stand up, she dropped to her knees and crawled into the room on all fours.
"Look closely, Lieutenant, there's a sight we will never see again. The dominant Captain of Company Five on her hands and knees," Obi murmured. "Dammit...I wish I had my phone to take a picture."
Hinawa stayed silent with a smirk on his face. He did not bother to admonish his Captain for the inappropriate, but deserved, comment. They watched in silence as Hibana rolled the unconscious woman over from her belly to her back.
"Phoenix? Phoenix?" the Princess called, pressing her hands to the young woman's red face. "Can you hear me? Come on, sweetheart. Say something."
"What happening?" Obi asked.
"She's overheated. A possible heat stroke. We need to cool her off. Her body still can't completely diffuse her power effectively," she explained quickly, checking the unconscious woman's pulse in her neck. "Her pulse is a hundred and fifty beats per minute."
Phoenix remained unresponsive to the shaking of her body and calls from Princess Hibana. Although her skin was red as a ripe tomato, she was not sweating despite the obvious heat of her body. Her chest rose and fell in rapid, shallow breaths. She exhibited several symptoms of a heat stroke. They had to act fast.
"What do we need to do?" Obi inquired, stepping into the room.
"Put those muscles of yours to work. Pick her up," she commanded him.
Captain Obi knelt down, sliding one arm under her head and the other under her knees. Phoenix was incredibly hot; so much that the intense heat of her body made him start sweating. She lay limp as a rag doll in his arms. Her small but toned body was heavier than he expected but still no strain for him.
"What can I do?" Hinawa inquired.
"Get ice. As much as you can," Hibana ordered him since he had asked.
She signaled for the Captain to follow her to the women's locker room. Turning on only the cold water faucet, she indicated that he should place her in the tub.
"Go get towels."
Obi complied without questioning. He picked up a whole pile of towels and a few washcloths.
"Close your eyes!" Hibana yelled before he entered the room.
He immediately shut his eyes tightly assuming the woman had undressed Phoenix while he was gone.
"But how am I - "
"Follow the sound of my voice. Move a little to the right to come straight through the door. Keep coming forward, slowly."
The sound of the splashing water echoing off the tiles almost covered up her words as she called out directions. All the extraneous noise made it nearly impossible to follow her voice when it was bouncing all over the place. He cautiously moved forward, hoping for the best.
"Okay. Stop," Hibana ordered him.
So he did. He held out the towels piled in his arms. He felt her pressing down on them to retrieve one and kept standing perfectly still. There was a lot of sloshing and splashing in addition to the sound of the running water.
"Okay. You can open your eyes. Where the hell is Hinawa?" she muttered, pressing the back of her wet hand to her sweaty forehead.
Princess Hibana had wrapped Phoenix's torso with two of the towels to retain her modesty. She soaked one of the other towels, placing it around the unconscious woman's head to further help in bringing down her temperature.
Akitaru Obi had never seen the always calm and collected Captain of Company Five so undone. Her cheeks were tinted pink with her efforts. Her light pink eyebrows were drawn together over the bridge of her nose. Wrinkles creased her otherwise flawless forehead. Seeing her like this made his anxiety rise exponentially.
"I wish you had warned me about this. I could have been prepared," he said, more than a little perturbed.
The Princess had been quick to divulge all other kinds of information about Phoenix. Why had she withheld something as important as this? Perhaps Phoenix had asked her not to say anything for reasons of pride. Whatever it was did not matter now. He just hoped it was not too late to help her, to save her from permanent damage. Suddenly her fear of going too far, of being overtaken by her own flames and becoming an Infernal, did not seem so ridiculous.
"Is she going to be all right?" he inquired.
"She'll be fine," she assured him. "It's imperative we bring down her core temperature. How long has she been like this?"
"I'm not sure exactly. I noticed last night she seemed to be running a fever. I found her asleep on the washer and dryer in the basement. Other than being exhausted and a little hot, she seemed okay."
"Hmmm...silly, prideful girl. You never have been one to ask for help," Hibana murmured as if talking to herself while she pressed a wet washcloth to Phoenix's face that had lightened to a magenta pink. "She has always had problems regulating her body heat. Particularly after she's used an excessive burst of her power. Her body has not quite adjusted to handling the heat of her own flames yet."
"Is that why she's afraid of becoming an Infernal?" Obi asked her with a directness that made her look at him.
"Yes," she answered, dribbling water over Phoenix's face to further cool her down. "She mentioned it?"
"Yeah," Obi replied gruffly. "She said she's afraid of losing control, of the flames overtaking her."
"She'll be fine," she repeated, pulling the towel from the still unresponsive woman's head to soak it in the cool water.
The accordion-like wrinkles on her forehead and the fierce scowl on her lips did not make him believe Phoenix would be fine.
"Where the hell is - " he muttered to be interrupted by Hinawa entering the room.
"Here," Hinawa said, holding out the three bags of ice stacked in his outstretched arms. "Sorry it took so long. I went down to the corner convenience store to get plenty."
Captain Obi grabbed the top one, ripping it open to dump the ice into the tub at Phoenix's feet. After he took off the second one to repeat the process, Hinawa opened the third to pour it in.
"Do we need to call a doctor or someone?" Hinawa inquired.
"No, Lieutenant. Just give it time. It's like running a high fever with the flu. But unlike with being sick, as soon as her temperature comes down, she'll be back to normal. Please leave," she requested politely, pressing the cloth cooled with freezing ice water to Phoenix's pink face. "I'll call you if I need further assistance. All we can do now is wait."
As they were leaving, she added one more request although she had no real belief in the God her dear Iris believed in so wholeheartedly.
"Please ask Iris to pray for her while she's at it."
"Sure thing," Obi returned.
"All right, Phoenix," Hibana murmured, wiping the young woman's face with the cold, wet washcloth. "It's up to you now. Come back to us."
~\../~
Phoenix found herself in a cold, white place. It was beyond quiet. There was a distinct absence of sound. With no color, no sound, she felt like she was trapped in a vacuum. Or perhaps somewhere less mysterious. Was she lost in a snowy forest? But there were no trees, no wind. Just white and cold surrounding her. She was alone. Unbelievably, frighteningly alone. She hated this feeling.
Shivering, she wrapped her arms around her body, rubbing her upper arms. A sense of isolation filtered through her body making her feel even colder. Hunkering down into a crouching position, she hugged her knees to her chest. Rolling herself into a little ball, she tried to ward off the advancing despair stemming from her sense of abandonment.
Tears trickled from her eyes, coursing down her cheeks to create icy trails. The tears froze on her jaw, refusing to fall. What the hell is this place?
"What are you doing here, my child?" a woman asked.
Phoenix inhaled sharply, opening her eyes. Feet clad in black, sensibly low heeled shoes that Princess Hibana would have deemed ugly came into a view. The hem of a black skirt fell mid calf on the woman's legs. Then the bottom of a white lab coat could be seen at the knee as her eyes continued upward. Finally, she looked into sad blue eyes, the color so pale it was almost nonexistent. A thin face framed with short, coal black hair bearing a kind expression with smiling pink lips.
"Mom? Is that really you?" she questioned the woman.
"Yes." Her smile grew wider, her carnation pink lips separating to show her teeth as white as the void around them.
"What are you doing here? Why am I here?" Phoenix inquired. "Where is here?"
Her Mother raised a hand to her mouth, giggling lightly.
"Surely you have more important questions for me than that, my daughter. Oh, how I've longed to see you. I'm sorry," she apologized, a film of tears coating her Husky dog blue eyes and making them virtually glow.
"Sorry for what?"
"It was never meant to happen that way. I wasn't supposed to die. You were meant to be my greatest experiment." She paused, reaching down to touch Phoenix's cheek with her fingertips.
Phoenix shivered. Her Mother's fingertips were cold as ice. She felt as if she were being touched by a gentle freezing rain.
"I guess you actually are my greatest experiment. My one great accomplishment and success. I'm so glad you survived. That's what I had hoped for. I knew the experiments were dangerous, but if my child could protect herself...if she was a special pyrokinetic...if only..."
"Phoenix!" a voice called from another dimension it seemed.
"You have to go," her mother said, turning away.
"What are you talking about? What makes me so special? If only what? Tell me! Mother, please!" she screamed, reaching out to grab the hem of the lab coat before her mother could walk away. "Wait! I want to ask you - "
"It's not your time to die. You have to go now," her mother stated calmly, turning to ashes and dissipating as if blown away by a breeze but there was no movement in the air.
"No! Wait!" Phoenix screamed.
"Phoenix!" the mysterious disembodied voice called again. "Phoenix! Wake up!"
She recognized the voice as Princess Hibana's. Suddenly, she felt like she could not breathe. Her lungs ached for air so she opened her mouth to suck in a noisy, wheezing breath.
Opening her eyes, she looked into the blue irises and pink flowered pupils of Captain Hibana. She sat up in the tub, hearing the ice clinking against the sides of the porcelain. Her body shuddered convulsively from the freezing water surrounding her.
"Welcome back, my dear. Feeling better?" Hibana inquired, standing up to get her a dry towel.
"I-I o-o-overheated a-again, d-d-didn't I?" she stuttered, her teeth chattering so badly it was difficult to speak.
"You did," the woman confirmed calmly as if completely unconcerned, unfolding a towel.
Holding out the towel, she approached the tub as Phoenix stood up, peeling the wet towels away from her body. Enclosing the woman in a hug, she wrapped the towel around Phoenix's body.
"You scared the hell out of me," she murmured in her ear, releasing her from the heartfelt embrace.
"I-I'm s-sorry," Phoenix stammered, adjusting the towel to secure it around her body.
"You should have told Captain Obi. He could have helped you before it went this far," the Princess admonished her.
"I thought I could handle it. I thought I could get it under control. I thought - "
"You thought wrong!" the worried woman yelled at her, raising her voice uncharacteristically.
"Is everything okay in there?" Captain Obi's deep voice projected from the hallway.
"Fine!" they shouted back in unison.
"When women say fine you know they're lying right?" Hinawa said in a hushed voice so his words would not echo into the bathroom.
"Phoenix is conscious and okay. That's all I needed to know," Obi said, pivoting on his heel to walk away. "Come on. Whatever happens now is between them."
"Captain Hibana, I'm sorry," Phoenix apologized, not knowing what else to say. "I'm still trying to find my limits. I'm trying to figure out how to stop the overheating."
"Don't use that explosive iron maiden skill of yours. You know it's too much for your body. I just don't want anything to happen to you," she said, taking her by the hands to assist her with getting out of the bathtub.
"Do you think my mom ever wanted a child? Or was I just another experiment? Is that why you have such a great interest in me? Strictly for research purposes?" she asked pointedly.
"No. That's not it at all," Princess Hibana assured her. "You've read your mother's diary. You know how much she loved you before you were even born." She sighed, preparing to confess a truth she had sworn to herself she would never tell Phoenix. "In the beginning. your mother's connection to Haijima Industries was the only reason I accepted you into my house. But you became more than a connection. You became a friend...maybe something like a sister."
Phoenix swallowed with an audible gulp. She had no idea the cold hearted and sometimes cruel Princess had such deep and sincere feelings for her. Knowing a little bit about the Princess's past, how she lost all of her sisters at the convent, being referred to as a sister pricked her heart making her want to cry with both sadness and happiness.
"That's why I want you here," Hibana said, using another towel to dry Phoenix's short hair. "It became important to me to separate you from the secrets you might not want to discover about your mother...or your father...during our research."
"What aren't you telling me?" she asked, staring intently at the woman.
Princess Hibana smiled her unusual smile that actually relayed no emotion at all in order to hide them.
"Please, don't lie to me. I want to know," Phoenix insisted.
"It's important for you to stay here. Stay safe. Become an invaluable member of Company Eight. You'll still be involved in the investigation. I don't want you going to Haijima Industries again," she said, ambling toward the door to leave. "I must go. I have an important meeting with your new Captain and Lieutenant. Take care of yourself. Drink plenty of fluids and stay in bed for the rest of the day. Those are orders from your former Captain. I'll make sure Captain Obi knows them so he will enforce them as your new Captain. Understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," she sighed, sitting down on the bench in front of her locker.
Although she had absolutely no intention of exercising, Phoenix pulled on a pair of capri length yoga pants with diamond shaped mesh cutouts down the side and a loose shirt that tied behind her neck and as always, bared her back. As much as she would like to buy a new wardrobe, she rather liked showing off her tattoo, which symbolized her surviving death by fire time and time again.
Princess Hibana was right. Although she did not say it, she knew Phoenix had a self-destructive streak. All things considered, her absence of self-preservation was an inherent part of her nature. After all, didn't she destroy herself, at least a little bit at the time, every time she used her flames? Yet her body healed. She recovered. This time would be no different.
So, following Captain's orders, both of them, she went to her room and went to bed for the rest of the day only emerging from time to time to get bottles of water or sports drinks.
~\../~
During the night, she woke up to find Captain Obi sitting in a chair beside her bed. His feet were propped on the edge of the bed, pushing back his chair slightly lifting the front legs from the floor. His chin rested on his chest where his arms were also folded.
Phoenix pushed down the covers, carefully edging to the foot of the bed as not to wake him. When the toes of her foot touched the floor, he spoke.
"Where are you going, little lady?" he asked, the legs of the chair thumping against the floor as he sat it down followed by the thud of his bare feet.
"To the kitchen. I'm thirsty," she replied, placing her foot flat on the floor to pull herself out of the bed.
"You gave us all quite a scare today."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I thought I had it under control."
Phoenix went to the kitchen with him following behind her.
"In this house, we're a team. A family. There's none of this rogue hero bullshit. You're not here to impress anyone. We have a job to do and we do it together," he admonished her like an angry Father.
"Yes, Sir," she returned, turning red with shame.
"Are you okay?" he asked her after flipping on the light and seeing the color of her skin.
"I'm fine. Just embarrassed," she remarked, opening the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water. "Want one?"
"Sure," he replied.
Phoenix tossed a bottle of water his way which he easily caught with a single large hand. She walked back toward the door of the kitchen to return to her room.
"Not so fast, Duchess."
"Ugh," she groaned, rolling her eyes.
Apparently, she was stuck with that nickname. Oh well, at least it wasn't Fifi.
"I want to talk to you. Come sit," he ordered her in the kindest of ways, pulling out the stool beside him at the table.
Phoenix complied without arguing. She straddled the stool and wrapped her feet around the legs to hold herself in place when her body wanted to slide off of the seat.
"You need to be more careful out there. When you put yourself in danger, you put us all in danger. Remember that," he said, his tone gentle but stern.
"Yes, Sir." She slid from the stool but he caught her wrist.
"Hey, I'm not done."
Her face heated with a blush as the heat of his big palm penetrated her cool skin. As soon as he noted her red face, he withdrew his hand, his tanned cheeks developing a bit of reddish coloration as well.
"You have to come to me if there's a problem, any problem. Be honest with me always. Not giving all of the details can be considered a lie as well, you know."
Her eye met his sincere, dark brown eyes that held hers without looking away.
"Yeah. I know. That goes for you too," she said boldly. "If you find out anything I should I know about my mother...or my father...you would tell me...wouldn't you?"
"Yes. I would." His eyes never shifted from hers indicating he was telling the truth when he answered. "We're good then?"
"We're good. Good night, Captain."
"Good night, Duchess."
~\..'../~
The next morning, Phoenix woke up early, getting a snack and going to the roof to watch the sunrise. As she sat on the roof safety wall, she heard the squeaky door open. She was sure Captain Obi had just joined her.
"Good morning," she said without turning around.
"Good morning," Captain Obi greeted her, sitting down on the wall beside her. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," she responded, finishing off her bottle of water. "I'm sorry."
"About what?" he asked, gazing ahead of him at the sun peeking above the horizon.
"I don't know. Everything. Showing off. Going too far. Generally being an inconvenience yesterday," she said.
"You weren't an inconvenience," he said, his voice betraying the 'but' to come. "But don't do that again. We'll work to find a way for your body to handle all of that extra heat and energy. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Now, I have a work out to get to," he announced, clapping his hands and rubbing them together.
"Me too," she returned, rotating on her behind to hop off of the wall.
"Hey, how much do you weigh?" Captain Obi asked, turning away from his weight bench to face her.
"Excuse me," Phoenix snapped. He really had no couth at all sometimes.
"Never mind. Come here," he said, waving her over.
"What? Yeeee!" she squealed when his big hands encompassed her waist and lifted her into the air.
Since she was wearing a small top that bared her middle, his palms contacted her skin directly which she found disturbingly pleasant.
"What are you doing?!" she screamed.
"Why don't we work out together?" he suggested as if unaware of his forwardness.
He put her down on her feet and dropped to a push up position on the foam rubber mat surrounding his work out equipment.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked.
"Sit on my back," he told her.
"Okay," she sighed. "This is weird."
"It's just a workout. Come on," he encouraged her, doing one push up. "I need a new challenge in my workouts."
"So I'm a new challenge?" she questioned him, standing beside him and pressing her hand between his shoulder blades.
"Yeah. In more ways than one," he returned.
Phoenix swung her leg over his broad back, mounting him like a horse. His body did not shake under her as he held himself in an up position of a push up while she folded her legs into a lotus sitting position on his back.
"Are you ready?" Obi asked.
"I'm ready," she replied, sitting up straight and centering her balance.
The muscles of his back bunched and moved under rump as he slowly lowered his body. She folded her hands and closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing as he raised back up. Might as well meditate while she was here. After completing twenty-five push ups, he stopped.
"Done?" Phoenix inquired.
"Done," he panted.
"Was it good for you?" She did not realize how sexually suggestive that sounded until the words were out of her mouth. She hoped he would miss the possible double meaning.
"I get kinda bored with the same old workout. Thanks for the change up," he said, seemingly oblivious to her inadvertent lecherous statement.
Phoenix blew out a sigh of relief.
"It was everything I thought it would be. Maybe we can do it again sometime," he chuckled, indicating he had picked up on the double entendre but could only let it slide for so long.
Quickly turning her back on him, she retreated to a far corner of the roof to begin her morning yoga routine.
After their workout, they both went down to the kitchen to find Hinawa preparing breakfast. He treated them to a traditional breakfast of Miso soup with tofu and bean sprouts, grilled salmon, pickled radishes, and steamed rice.
"Lieutenant, this is amazing," Phoenix mumbled around a mouthful of salmon and rice.
Captain Obi poked uncertainly at the fish with his fork, his face screwed up with disgust.
"What's wrong, Captain? It's delicious," she said, picking up another bite of the fish.
"I don't like fish," he muttered, putting down his fork in favor of eating the soup.
"But it tastes great! Try it!" she encouraged him, shoving the portion of pink fish held in her chopsticks toward his mouth.
He recoiled, his face twisting to convey his repulsion. Like a picky child, he covered his mouth with his hand and shook his head vehemently.
"Seriously?" she muttered, pulling the food back to eat it herself.
"About the only protein he likes is the chicken in his chicken ramen...specifically from Ippudo Ramen," Hinawa commented, unconcerned with the Captain's obvious disdain for the carefully prepared salmon.
"I'll eat it," Phoenix eagerly volunteered, snatching the fish off of her Captain's plate without asking.
"Glad to see you have your appetite back," he said, looking somewhat relieved the offending food had been taken away.
"It's unusual that a man so intent on building big muscles would dislike protein so much. I thought men who worked out a lot preferred to eat obscene amounts of protein," she said, taking a moment to sip from her cup of coffee.
"I'm not like most men," he returned.
"No. No, you're not," she agreed.
Hinawa cleared his throat to express his discomfort with the exchange between the Captain and the newbie. "Well, the Princess of the Fifth will be here soon. I'm going to the First's Cathedral again today to talk to Shinra. Want to go with me to meet him, Fifi?"
She choked on her coffee. Goddamit, Hinawa.
"Sure thing. I'll be looking forward to it. I just need to grab a shower first," she said, plowing into the rest of her food.
"Go ahead. I'll do the dishes this morning," he offered.
As per usual Captain Hibana arrived with a file folder full of information as they were putting their dishes in the sink. She was wearing her demure brown executive suit which seemed to be her new favorite outfit.
"Good morning, Captain Hibana," Phoenix greeted her with a formal bow.
"How are feeling?" she asked, studying her from head to toe critically.
Phoenix thought the disapproval of her appearance stemmed from her still being in her work out gear, sweaty, and disheveled. It was actually her flushed cheeks that garnered the woman's deep frown.
"I'm good. Much better. I'm sorry I worried you. If you'll excuse me - "
"I want you present for this meeting," Hibana informed her harshly.
"I'll make it a quick shower," Phoenix stubbornly persisted. "I'll be right back."
In a mere twenty minutes, Phoenix met them in Captain Obi's office. Showered, groomed, and dressed in the outfit in which she arrived on her first day at the Eighth.
Hinawa and Hibana stood one on either side of Obi sitting at his desk, all of them staring at the pages contained within the open file folder and spread across the entire desk top. Captain Obi held one piece of paper in his hand, continuing to read it rather than looking up at her like the other two people did when she entered.
"Bugs?" he queried, rereading the sentence.
"Bugs," Captain Hibana confirmed.
Phoenix stared at them in confusion and said nothing, waiting for someone to explain. She glanced at Princess Hibana who walked away to lean against the short filing cabinet behind Captain Obi's desk.
"Phoenix, you might want to take a seat for this," she sighed, the sadness in her eyes deepening that of her frown.
"Ma'am, I - "
"Sweetheart, sit down," she ordered her in a gentle but warning tone.
Phoenix convulsively swallowed to rid herself of the lump of dread in her throat. Obviously this was something she did not want to here. She had asked for full transparency after all.
Reaching behind her, she blindly felt for the back of the chair. Her fingers brushed across the leather back so she pulled it up behind her knees to take a seat. She laced her fingers together, clasping her hands so tightly her knuckles whitened.
"The Artificial Infernals are being created by these specialized bugs that hold a spark of the Adolla Burst inside of them," Princess Hibana began to explain.
The Adolla Burst - the original, pure flame. The Flames of Destruction they had been called in a document she once read while transporting the papers back to the Captain. The Flames of Destruction for damn sure because the Adolla Burst was the beginning of this whole disaster that destroyed entire continents at its inception and countless lives in the hundred and fifty years since.
Phoenix sighed heavily as the invisible burden she always carried pressed heavily into her shoulders making her slump over. Hers was just one of those innumerable lives ruined in the after effects. But her pain was meaningless. She was nothing but a statistic in the big scheme of things. But it meant an extremely painful everything to her at her singular level of existence.
Princess Hibana inhaled deeply before finally continuing. Her darkly tanned skin actually seemed to pale a bit.
"Within the documentation detailing the bugs there was a bit of information about your mother." She inhaled again. "She was studying one of these bugs in the lab when it escaped from it's containment vessel and entered her. She was not compatible. You were already a pyrokinetic. Thanks to your patriarchal lineage you were safe."
"I knew the experiments were dangerous, but if my child could protect herself...if she was a special pyrokinetic...if only..." Her mother's words drifted back to her from that awful cold place making her shudder. She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth to hold back her emotions and possible vomit. What if the bug was trying to get her and her mother just happened to be a human shell in the way?
Nausea, hot and oily, oozed through Phoenix's intestines. Her throat burned as the bile crept upwards. Hinawa stepped forward, handing her a bottle of water. God, he was her hero today. She cracked open the top and quickly took a drink before she threw up in front of all of them. How embarrassing would that be?
"So is it my fault my mother died?" she asked, her mind a bit muddled.
"No. That's not what that means at all," Captain Obi assured her, putting the paper down on top of the stack. "It was no one's fault. Her body rejected the bug. The Infernal Bug killed your mother. It's that simple. None of that had anything to do with you."
Simple. She took another gulp of the cool water. Nothing about any of this was simple. Anger replaced the sickness in her gut, boiling her blood and reddening her face.
"Are you all right?" Obi asked her.
"You know who my Father is then?"
He sighed, closing his eyes briefly before looking up at her. "I do. How do you feel about that?"
"You already know. Does it matter how I feel?" she responded, the words forced between her tight lips in almost a growl.
She ignored the furtive glance exchanged between the two men. She guessed during the research they were going to find out about her father sooner or later. The way Princess Hibana quickly looked away from her when she switched her gaze to her, she knew then it had already been sooner they knew the identity of her father.
"Are you ready to go to the First?" Hinawa inquired, his words barely cutting through the tension. "You should meet Shinra. You will probably be working closely with him when he comes back."
Princess Hibana visibly balked at the prospect, issuing a 'harumph' sound like a grumpy old man. She crossed her arms under her voluptuous bosom and proceeded to pout. She would be mortified if she knew how blatantly she was displaying her juvenile jealousy.
"Sure. I need a walk," Phoenix said gamely, standing to her feet.
"I'm coming too," Captain Hibana said.
"Ugh...okay," Hinawa sighed in exasperation. "Field trip it is. Come on, ladies."
~\../~
Phoenix stood on the sidewalk at the edge of the extensive and widespread property of the First's Special Fire Fighting Cathedral. The difference between this place and the Eighth's was a bit disconcerting and disheartening. It looked like an Ivy League University campus with several large buildings covered in actual ivy. The manicured grounds of lush green grass, tall grand trees, and colorful flower gardens were beautiful.
The most striking feature was that there were no fences, no security measure of any kind, to prevent anyone and everyone from wandering up onto the property that resembled a religious university with its massive main Cathedral. She watched in disbelief as Hinawa just walked up, completely unhindered by barriers, and stood in front of the window of a white brick building with brown trim.
The double window suddenly swung opened and a boy with short, messy black hair wearing a blue t-shirt leaned out and began speaking with the Lieutenant. She recognized him as Shinra Kusakabe from the picture she had seen in his personnel file even without his devilish grin.
Shinra did not look pleased to see Lieutenant Hinawa as he leaned further out of the window. They were speaking loudly but not loud enough for her to make out the words. The expression on his face made his emotions clear enough.
Two nuns in habits were walking by and paused to greet the Lieutenant. They recognized him and were not surprised to see him there since he had been coming to visit every morning for nearly a week. Hinawa bowed to them. Perhaps that was why the young man seemed irritated. He did not like the intrusive visits.
"Are you nervous?" Captain Hibana asked her, casually leaning against a nearby tree with one of her high heeled shoes propped against the trunk along with her back.
"Why would I be?" Phoenix snapped back, still annoyed from the earlier revelation of everyone knowing the identity of her father.
Worst case scenario would be seeing him here. She kept scanning the area to make sure he did not unexpectedly appear. If he saw her, it would not matter. He would not recognize her, but she sure as hell would know him.
"I think you're going to like Shinra," said the Princess, her tanned cheeks blushing a pink much darker than her hair.
"Are you trying to play matchmaker now?" she shot back, risking a glance at the woman.
"Certainly not," she huffed, folding her arms under her breasts.
"Don't pout. It's unseemly of a woman of your eminence," Phoenix cattily retorted, bordering on insubordination.
"Why you little - "
Hinawa waved to Phoenix for her to come forward.
"Gotta go," she announced before she could receive a demeaning tongue lashing the Princess was so good at giving.
Shinra leaned further forward until she thought he might fall out of the window. At least it was on the ground floor so he would not fall far. The drops of nervous sweat on his forehead and cheeks increased, trickling downward. At first he stared at her, blank faced, wide eyed, and gape mouthed.
When her eyes met his, his irises a dark vermilion with white pupils, his mouth stretched into a wide, Cheshire grin baring his shark like teeth. Ah, there it is. The smile which warranted him his other less than flattering nickname of demon. She could sympathize on unwanted and scathing nicknames.
Even though she had seen that fierce smile on his Fire Force application, seeing it in person made him appear almost lecherous as if he wanted to eat her alive in a decidedly sensual way. Maybe it was the way his eyes became heavily lidded, his ruby red irises intense as they studied her in apprehensive curiosity. Whatever it was about his smile, that unknown something sent a tingle down her back. And not of fear or disgust.
"Who's that?" she heard him ask Hinawa in a stage whisper as she approached.
"Phoenix. Formerly a member of Company Five, presently a new member of the Eighth. Phoenix, this is Shinra Kusakabe," he introduced her when she came near.
"The Devil's Footprints," she said, extending her hand. "Nice to meet you, Shinra."
"Nice to meet you too," he returned, gripping her hand firmly.
His palms were damp with nervous sweat. She did not mind. She was nervous too. She just had more practice at hiding her fear and anxiety.
Something odd happened when he touched her. There was a throbbing sensation in her chest. Or rather her back. The brief but intense pulse penetrated straight through her chest as if originating from her tattoo and streaking through her heart.
Phoenix quickly released his hand which made his cheeks redden and his grin widen even more although she had thought that impossible. Now he looked like a scary demon.
"I'm really looking forward to working with you," she stated, wondering if he had felt the strange sensation too.
"Yeah. Me too," he rejoined, standing up straight.
"It was nice meeting you," she said, pivoting on her heel to walk back to the sidewalk.
"Yeah. Me too," he repeated as she walked away.
"You're a sparkling conversationalist, Shinra," Hinawa teased him mercilessly.
"Dammit, Lieutenant, I'm nervous okay," he hotly defended himself.
Phoenix covered her mouth to stifle her laugh at the two men as she strolled out of earshot.
"What can I do to keep you from showing up here again?" Shinra asked.
"Try checking in with Captain Obi more often. Not only do we need your reports, we want to make sure you haven't gotten into trouble. See ya later," the Lieutenant said, raising his hand in farewell.
Hinawa soon joined her and Hibana on the sidewalk. All of them glanced around the area one more time.
"Don't you find it strange that people are so free to wander around this place? No one batted an eye that I've randomly shown up here for the last few days. They did not even ask me to leave. It makes no sense that there are no gates, no barriers, not even a security guard here. Why are they so lax in security when they have so many secrets to protect?" Hinawa questioned rhetorically.
"I seriously doubt those secrets, especially the bugs, are being kept here," Princess Hibana offered as a reason. "The Artifical Infernals always occur somewhere else. Not a single scandalous incident has happened here. They are very careful to keep themselves above reproach, to throw off suspicion. They would not risk incriminating themselves," she reminded him.
Phoenix glimpsed back at the open window one more time. Shinra waved, and she waved back. His grin was more relaxed this time. He was actually cute. She wanted to see him again - soon.
~\../~
That night, Phoenix tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She assumed the time to be around midnight. Everyone else was asleep. The cathedral was quiet except for the occasional crack of wood as the house settled from the cool night air after the heating of the day. Today had been intensely hot.
Her throat was dry and scratchy. She should have skipped that last workout. But the run had felt good. The runner's high she experienced was euphoric. She had ran all the way to Company One's Cathedral hoping to get another glimpse of Shinra Kusakabe.
Her intentions were not romantic but investigative. She had some questions to ask him. Her personal inquisitiveness drove her there to see if that bizarre throbbing affected her again, and if he felt it too.
Sucking down the bottle of water, Phoenix decided a midnight run might be just what she needed to clear her mind. So leaving a note on the refrigerator and donning her running gear, she took off.
Sometimes it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. Besides, if she returned before anyone awakened there would be nothing to forgive. If someone did wake up, there was a note to cover her butt. Either way, she should be fine and not have any horrible repercussions to face.
The First was quiet, not a soul moving about the grounds. She pushed back the hood of her jacket so she could have full view of her surroundings. For once she was completely covered up, wearing a loose hoodie over her sports bra and full length skin tight running leggings.
Once she was satisfied there was truly no one around, she went to the window where Hinawa had talked to Shinra earlier. She tapped on a pane of glass in the multi-paned window and waited. Staying watchful, she turned with her back to the window to make sure no one could sneak up behind her and catch her unawares.
"What are you doing here?" Shinra whispered.
"Oh, my god," she gasped, startled by the sound of his voice.
At least the one person who did take her by surprise was the one she was looking for. She spun around, coming almost nose to nose with him because he had leaned out of the window. That peculiar pulse skewered her back and then her chest like a spear.
Her eyes met his. He wasn't smiling this time. He appeared confused, addled. Maybe that feeling offset him enough he did not have time to be nervous by their closeness.
"You feel it too. Don't you?" she asked in a soft voice.
"It's like a heartbeat. A throbbing. It starts in my feet and rushes up to my knees." He paused to swallow, both of them hearing the gulp. "What is it?"
"I don't know. I was hoping you knew," she returned.
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" he asked her, grinning broadly at her.
She could not tell if he was joking and thought it was funny or if he was being serious and that was a nervous smile.
"Mr. Kusakabe, we're not in high school, and this is not a love confession," she said, mildly irritated but amused at the same time.
"Damn," he muttered in disappointment before quickly adding, "but that's not what I meant."
How many things could he have possibly meant when he asked that question?
"Maybe by the time I'm done here, I'll know what's causing that weird feeling. You know why we're here. Don't you?" he asked, his smile giving way to a more grim expression.
"I do. I am an investigator too. I was a spy for the Fifth," she admitted.
"A spy?" he repeated, blinking at her. "Why?"
"I have my reasons...which I'll tell you," she added, inhaling a deep breath to shore up her courage. "Shinra, here's what you need to know about me."
She proceeded to tell him about her mother; her mother's involvement as a scientist studying the bugs all the way up to her unusual birth after the accident in the lab. She left out the part about her father. Sharing that tidbit was unnecessary at this time. When she was done giving him the important details about her mother, she waited for his reaction.
"Oh," he breathed, leaning on the windowsill. "So you joined the investigation to find your own answers?"
"I did," she answered honestly. "Unfortunately, my reasons are not as altruistic and far reaching as yours and Captain Obi's. I don't want to be a hero. I couldn't care less about saving Infernals. I think they're irredeemable. But I do want to stop Infernals, artificial or otherwise, from ever being created. I want to prevent dozens...no, hundreds, probably thousands, more families from having to suffer the pain and loss the Infernals cause."
"That's a good enough reason, don't you think?" he returned.
Phoenix smiled at him. "Maybe so. But in the end, the main thing I want is all of the answers about my mother."
"My mother died in a fire twelve years ago. Although I thought my baby brother was dead, I now have reasons to believe he's alive. I'm sure Captain Burns in the Fire Soldier who saved me from that fire," he said.
She did not mean to flinch, violently reacting to the mere mention of that man's name. She could tell Shinra wanted to ask questions she did not want to answer so she decided she should leave.
"It's late. I should go before we get caught," she announced.
"Good night, Phoenix," he called to her.
Without saying a word, she pulled up her hood and ran at full speed to disappear into the night. She ran all the way back to the Company Eight Cathedral rather than taking a casual jog like she had on the way over to see Shinra. She went straight to the kitchen.
The note was still on the fridge door. Snatching off the small paper square with the sticky backing, she tore it up and threw the small pieces in the trash. She opened the refrigerator to grab a red sports drink and retreat to her room. She had come too far to be caught now.
Kicking off her shoes, she threw her jacket on the end of her bed after taking it off. Although a little sweaty, a shower would have to wait. She flopped down on her bed on her back. Folding her hands behind her head, she released a sigh of contentment.
Another successful midnight mission. Her visit to Shinra was not the first time she had stolen out in the middle of the night to sneak in somewhere for information. That was her job after all. Even though she always entered the front door of Haijima Industries after using a fake employee badge, she had to sneak around inside the building to gather intel.
As she began to relax, her muscles loosening and drowsiness skirting around the edges of her consciousness, the light on her desk flipped on. She jumped off the bed, preparing to fight. Then she saw Hinawa sitting in the chair at her desk. Arms crossed, severe glower on his face, he sat there menacingly without saying a word.
"You thought you got away with it, didn't you?" he asked her, a strictly rhetorical question.
"I went to see Shinra. There was something I wanted to talk to him about," she said without having to be asked but refusing to go into great detail about the topic of their discussion.
"Awww," he cooed mockingly. "A love confession already? I never took you for the love at first sight type."
What the hell was wrong with these men? But he was ridiculing her. Far be it from Hinawa to miss an opportunity to taunt her.
"You caught me, Sir. I just couldn't wait to see Shinra again. It truly was love at first sight. I've never felt anything like that before. When I met him, I thought my heart would beat out of my chest. I had to confess my feelings as soon as possible, or I thought I'd die," she wistfully stated, feeling like an idiot.
She was willing to roll with the charade to save herself from punishment and playing up the teenage love drama angle. She was nineteen after all. Still technically a teenager. Besides, two of those statements were true. There was always some fact behind every fictional story.
"Oh, bullshit," the annoyed Lieutenant muttered, pushing up his glasses with his middle finger. "Tell me truth, and I won't go to Captain Obi about this. He's already worried enough about our three members in there without you adding to his problems."
"Fine," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Something weird happened when I met Shinra. I wasn't lying when I said I had a feeling I've never had before. Their was this pulse, like this resonance between us. But it had nothing to do with romance. It's something else."
"I said don't lie to me." He stood up from the chair crossing the room in just a few steps to stand over her as if to intimidate her into being truthful.
"I'm not lying, Sir. It's like something inside of him called to something inside of me. I know that sounds stupid, but that's the best way I can describe it, and I don't know what the hell it is. He felt it too! Ask him about it if you still think I'm lying!" she exclaimed, her voice rising with her anger that he still doubted her.
"Oh, I definitely will. The next time I see him," he promised her.
"Yes, Sir," she muttered, relieved but still agitated.
Although his willingness to at least consider she was telling the truth put her at ease, his suspicion aggravated her.
"So you'll really keep this between us?" she asked before he exited her room.
"That's what I said, isn't it? Look, Phoenix, I really want to trust you. But you have to admit - "
"Yeah. It sounds stupid. Downright ludicrous. I agree. But it's the truth."
"Well, when Shinra corroborates your story, you'll have nothing to worry about. Take a shower and go to bed."
"Yes, Sir."