Karim knocked on Phoenix's door. After waiting a short time with no answer, he knocked again - louder and harder - hoping his show of impatience would get her out of bed.

"Hey! Lazy bones! Get your bones that are lazy out of bed!" he yelled, banging on the door with both fists. "Come out or I'll beat down the door and drag your lazy bones out!"

He stopped hollering and beating the door to place his ear against it to listen for sounds from the other side. Nothing. Not a peep. No movement.

"Damn. Where the hell is she?" he wondered aloud, scratching his forehead.

Maybe she's in the mess hall, he thought, picking up his instrument and heading that way. She did not eat much at dinner last night. She's probably starving this morning.

As he crossed the grounds toward the dining facilities, he glanced across the open courtyard between buildings to the fenced in training field. His steps halted when he saw Captain Burns standing at one end of the enclosure. The man assumed his typical stance of standing with feet planted firmly on the ground shoulder width apart with his arms folded in front of his chest. The more intense than usual expression on the man's stony face as he watched someone prompted Karim to wander over and check it out.

In the middle of the training area, smack dab in the cross hatch of the large white cross on the blue field, stood a lone figure dressed in black. The yoga pants fit like a second skin and the top looked like nothing more than a bikini top that tied around her neck and waist leaving her tattoo completely revealed - more so than most of her attire that he was accustomed to seeing her in. Embarrassed for her in her current state of dress, a blush heated his cheeks.

Karim kept his eyes on her as he approached the field. She stood in a tree pose, one foot flat on the ground and the other pressed into her inner thigh, her hands pressed together in a prayer position in front of her. Her eyes were closed. He found it remarkable that there was not one single waver in her stance, not a muscle twitched. She appeared serene and relaxed almost as if she existed on a completely different plane from them at the moment.

Opening the gate of the enclosure, he entered to stand beside his Captain and her father. Rather than saying anything, he stood quietly to watch her as she slowly began to move, lowering her foot to place it flat beside the other. Bending forward, folding her body in half, she placed her palms on the ground in front of her toes. Seemingly without effort, she lifted her feet from the ground, separating her legs in a split as she rolled her body up before gradually closing them back together to form a vertical line as straight and unmoving as when she had been on her feet.

"She's strong...and quite the gymnast," Karim remarked.

"You're sparring with her today?" Captain Burns asked him although Karim was pretty sure he already knew the answer to the question.

"Yes, sir," he answered.

"I recommend avoiding hand to hand combat," suggested Burns.

"Why is that, sir?"

Captain Burns turned to him with a raised eyebrow as if in disbelief Karim had asked him that question. His attention went back to his daughter who was now tilting her body to the side and lifting one hand from the ground.

"Because if it comes down to brute strength, she's going to kick your ass, son," he replied bluntly. "Think about who she's trained with and worked under."

Her first Captain was Benimaru Shinmon, regarded as the strongest of all the fire soldiers despite his irreverent approach to running his company and blatantly disrespectful attitude toward the entire system and frequent displays of disrespect to his seniors and peers. Her second Captain, Princess Hibana, while not physically powerful is a master at stealth and deception while being calculating and tactful. Her third and present Captain, Akitaru Obi, despite not having any fire capabilities is a beast when it comes to physical prowess and a formidable fighter to be reckoned even by those possessing pyrokinetic powers.

Karim glimpsed at the imposing and powerful man standing beside him lest he forget who her father is. Genetics had to account for something in addition to her physical conditioning and fire abilities. He gulped. They had engaged in quick, half-hearted spur of the moment scraps before but nothing serious.

Presently, Phoenix looked focused and incredibly serious as if she was going into a real fight. He had heard stories about her before he knew her as his friend and long before he knew her as Captain Burns' daughter. Until now he did not take the rumors of her raw strength and feral violence seriously, not believing the gossip at all.

He observed her straightening back up into a handstand to elegantly perform a front handspring and land lightly on her feet. Her deceptive strength hid under grace and beauty. Her silver eyes practically glowed when they met his. A smile curled her lips which he easily returned.

"You ready?" she asked.

Before Karim could answer, her wings of flames shot out on either side of her body and pushed back, launching her toward him like a missile. He jumped to his left to avoid a direct impact from her. Losing his balance, he toppled over onto his behind.

Phoenix pulled up short, leaning her body back and flapping her wings forward to create a forward thermal thrust that immediately halted her progress and sent a wave of heat washing over him. She threw back her head and laughed loudly when he shielded his face with his arm from the blast of hot air.

"An enemy isn't going to wait for you to be prepared," she stated with an almost arrogant self-assurance that instantly reminded him of Captain Shinmon.

"You're right," he responded. Clambering to his feet, he rang the bell he held in his hand.

Phoenix jumped around as if playing a chaotic game of hopscotch to avoid the small spikes of ice he shot at her. Using only the residual heat from her wings he was only able to form small icicles that he flung at her like darts. Daring to tempt fate and his wrath, she returned the fire with fiery feathers shot out like arrows with a flap of her wings.

Karim sounded the bell to gather the thermal energy of her attack. The device akin to a fancy modified tuba emitted a low bellowing sound as he aimed the six foot tall ice spike at her.

Captain Burns had moved to the opposite end of the field and returned to his usual resting stance as he observed the scuffle. Although a massive ice spear had been flung at his daughter, he remained unconcerned.

Phoenix enclosed her body with her wings creating a dome of flame to protect herself. The ice melted before it could penetrate her fiery barrier creating a steam cloud that spread across the area like fog obscuring both combatants.

Karim waved his arms to try to clear the mist surrounding him. Giving up on dispersing the cloud swirling around him, he closed his eyes and listened for movement. The absolute silence and disturbing lack of motion from any direction made his belly quiver. Had the entire projectile not melted enabling a shard to meet its mark?

He sucked in air, opening his mouth to call out for her. In the second that followed his inhalation, that is when he realized he made not just one but several errors that could have been fatal in real combat. First, he underestimated his opponent. Second and to his embarrassment, he allowed his predisposed assumptions as a man that he had hurt her and the ensuing guilt lure him into white knight mode to save her. Lastly, the tender emotional sentiment stemming from friendship interfered with his instincts as a fighter.

Phoenix suddenly appeared in front of him. Flipping forward, her foot kicked the back of his head on the rotation, the momentum driving him to the ground. Unable to complete the turn to make it to her feet, she landed on all fours.

Karim seized her ankle and dragged her down onto her belly to prevent her from getting up before he could stand up.

Captain Burns watched the battle of pyrokinetic abilities devolve into a good old-fashioned wrestling match. Their fights as fire soldiers hardly ever involved hand to hand combat and never a grappling match but it would not hurt to test their skills. Besides, he wanted to see how well his daughter could defend herself from any kind of attack.

"Good morning, Captain Burns," fellow Captain Hibana greeted him.

"Morning," he returned without taking his eyes off of the combatants who were now on their feet again. "What brings you to the First today, Princess?"

"How is she doing?"

"Fine."

"Would it be possible to talk to her?" she inquired with a degree of humbleness he did not believe the Princess capable of.

"Whether she wants to talk to your not is strictly up to her," he returned tersely.

Karim Flam's instrument emitted a low resonant blast that made the ground rumble in response to a hailstorm of fire feathers to send a chunk of ice hurtling back at her like a boulder from a catapult. Phoenix pushed herself out of the way with a forceful downward flap of her wings rather than trying to melt the substantial hunk of ice. After avoiding harm, both of them stood facing each other, sweating while their chests rose and fell rapidly from their lungs heaving for air.

"Take a break you two," Captain Burns ordered them.

"Yes, sir," they acknowledged in unison.

"Here is your chance, Captain Hibana," he warned her as Phoenix and Karim began walking toward them. "Lieutenant, come with me. We will be right back with water," he informed Phoenix when her face crumpled into a mixture of anger and confusion.

Captain Burns was sure she was confused as to why Hibana was here and angry because he was leaving her alone with the woman. Concerned about his subordinate, Akitaru Obi had called him last night to check up on her. Since his daughter had been taciturn about the confrontation that had brought her to him in such a heightened emotional state and her present Captain was inquiring about her, he felt confident he was well within his parental rights to ask what happened. Obi told him about the short but vicious verbal assault committed by his daughter on her former Captain from the Fifth.

"What are you doing here?" Phoenix inquired unable to soften the hard edge to her voice.

"I didn't like leaving things between us like they were. I believe there is more we should say to each other," Hibana said, receiving a derisive scoff in return.

The domineering Captain began feeling maybe she had taught Phoenix a little too well how to exude the confidence necessary to intimidate. When her former subordinate's mouth dropped into a lopsided smirk exhibiting her resentment and disdain, an expression she reserved for her male subordinates, she regretted not having many difficult and truthful conversations with her that she should have had.

"I'm sorry," Hibana blurted.

Phoenix's mouth dropped into a round O of shock at those two simple but powerful words made even more shocking by their sincerity. She closed her mouth with a click of her teeth while her eyes blinked rapidly.

"Excuse me, but what did you say?" she inquired genuinely unsure that she had heard correctly. Perhaps the woman had said, 'You're sorry.' Hibana had never apologized to anyone for anything - ever.

The pink haired woman rolled her eyes and made a short, sharp growling sound of annoyance. Closing her eyes and inhaling, she balled her hands into fists steeling her nerves and her pride to repeat herself. Her own conceit and overblown self-assurance made this apology necessary.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I should have told you those things...everything. I should have trusted you with the truth. I thought I was protecting you. I had no idea how much it would hurt you."

"It would have hurt just as much then too...but at least having the truth freely given to me would not have been compounded with the betrayal that came with finding out from other people...from learning you knew the whole time. If you had told me, you could have helped me through it. Thank Sol Shinra was there for me," she said, noticing that Hibana winced at the mention of his name. "I suppose in a way I should thank you. Since Shinra was the one there to help me through all this it made us closer, really sealed that emotional bond."

Hibana's eyes met hers that were narrowed from both anger and the blinding mid morning sun shining down on them.

"I had no idea you could be so cruel," Hibana commented, honestly not sure if she should be proud or hurt.

"I had a good teacher," she retorted.

"Hmph," grunted the woman as if she had been punched in the belly. "I suppose you did. I taught you to be mentally hard...tough as nails and twice as sharp. Never waste words or your emotions. Use the least amount of words - "

"To inflict the maximum amount of emotional damage," Phoenix completed the adage coined by Hibana herself. "Did it never occur to you that your own words would come back to haunt you? So many of mine return to me in the worst of ways on an almost daily basis. I suppose you're vain enough to believe you would never reap what you sow. Or that you could escape the basic principle of karma."

"Karma's a bitch and so are you," Hibana fired back at her with equal venom.

Phoenix smiled. The smile was cold, complementing the fiery rage in her eyes. "Congratulations on a job well done, Captain."

"I brought your mother's unedited diaries. I also included a few other things. All documents are unaltered and in their original, true states. I apologize for not seeing sooner that you were ready for the truth. I just..." Her voice trailed away, her eyes glistening with tears.

The ice that Hibana herself had constructed layer by layer with each lie around Phoenix's heart had already been pierced by her initial apology. Each consecutive apology and admission had further fractured the hostility that she tried unsuccessfully to cling to. Lately, she had been forced to forgive a lot.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong. Phoenix had read that quote attributed to someone named Mahatma Ghandi in an old book. She wanted to be strong. She needed to be strong for all of the people who loved her and depended on her to be there for them.

The woman standing in front of her looking sorrowful and dejected was no exception. Even strong people had their weak moments and made mistakes.

Phoenix had never seen Hibana like this and found it somewhat frightening. Tears stung the backs of her eyes seconds before they dribbled from the corners and slid down her cheeks.

"I-I'm s-sorry t-too," she stuttered, her breath catching several times as she spoke. "I just...i just needed someone living to blame...to hate. There was too much guilt involved in hating a dead woman who couldn't defend herself or tell her side of the story."

"Well, now she can tell you her story since you have the whole truth," Hibana said.

"Thank you, but..." She sniffled as her words died away.

"But?"

"But I don't know if I want to read them. I'm frightened. I'm terrified of what else I might find out. I just don't think I can handle anymore truth right now."

"I'll be here for you if you need me. I know you have plenty of other people to talk to, but - "

"Thank you," Phoenix interrupted her, sensing the woman's discomfort. "But I think...I think I want you to hang on to those things for a little while longer. I think I've learned all the truth I can handle for a while."

Soulful, tender moments had never Hibana's thing. If she did have them, they were brief and typically initiated by some outside circumstance not the woman herself. Apologizing had taken courage and killing a lot of her hubris.

"All right then. I will return them to safekeeping until you are ready," Hibana said, giving her a smile.

Captain Burns and Lieutenant Flam returned with bottles of water for them. Both women gratefully took the bottles and drank them down.

"So is everything good here? Ready to get back to training?" Captain Burns addressed Phoenix directly.

"Things are great. We're good," she said, glimpsing at Hibana who nodded in agreement. "I'm ready to get back to training if Flam is."

"You bet I'm ready," he stated enthusiastically. "I'm ready to kick your ass again."

"Again? When was the first time?" Phoenix retorted.

"Would you like to stay to watch?" Burns invited Hibana. "You can see the fruits of your efforts."

"No. I'm fine," she replied, watching as Phoenix extended her wings. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "I've seen enough."

~\./~

Meanwhile, in Asakusa...

Shinra folded his middle and ring fingers down on both hands, holding them down with his thumb while extending his forefingers and pinkies.

"This is the one that Captain Obi often does," he explained as Benimaru stared at him with a blank face.

"Try it and see what happens."

Shinra stretched out his arms to the sky, shouting with his effort while attempting to push himself up off the ground fast and far. He rose a mere three feet before sinking back down into the dirt.

"Ugh," Benimaru groaned, shaking his head. "Take off your gloves, idiot."

"Oh, yes, sir," Shinra muttered, snatching them off and tossing them to the ground. "Now what?"

Benimaru proceeded to educate him on the basic principles of the hand movements or tenokata he uses to control his flames and impart more power to his strikes. He went into depth about only one, the single movement Shinra would need called the Tora Hishigi that is responsible for increasing foot power.

"Place the pad of your thumb at the base of your pinkie finger," he said while doing so. "Then fold your index finger over the base of your thumb. Leave your other three fingers extended straight. This directs your ki to one spot on your body."

"I can control my ki and my flames with my fingers?" Shinra pondered aloud, staring at his hand in wonder.

"I've told you the basics. The rest is for you to figure out," Beni told him flatly, turning his back to walk away.

"Control my ki...direct the flow to my feet," Shinra muttered to himself. "Time to put it to good use."

Shinra closed his eyes and folded his fingers as he had been told and shown. He dropped his hands down to his sides to point his fingers downward. The energy in body seemed to change direction, flowing down and gathering in his belly before flowing down his legs. As he emitted his flames, they seemed to converge and compress, jettisoning him upward several feet in seconds without much effort.

"Whoa!" he gasped, extinguishing his flames immediately and nearly falling on his butt. He was astonished by how different it felt. How powerful yet effortless. "This is amazing!"

Returning to his initial position, standing with his feet shoulder width apart, hands down, and eyes closed to concentrate, he tried again. There was a warm steady heat that flowed through the muscles of his legs to the soles of feet. Soon he found himself launched in the air like a rocket with very little energy expended throughout his entire body. Focusing and directing his ki to one area would certainly prevent fatigue. Opening his eyes, he looked down to see he had blasted himself up into the air not just a few feet but several yards - and he was still rising fast.

This must be how Phoenix does it. Of course Captain Shinmon taught her the proper technique that allows her to have such accuracy and stamina. She practically flies like a bird, he thought. We can fly together. I can't wait to tell her.

~\./~

That evening, Phoenix emerged from a blazing hot shower, her skin red from the heat of the water. The bruises on her arms and legs were black and purple varying in size from as small as a coin like the ones dotting her arms or as big as the width of her leg like the one on her right shin. Once Karim got over his initial hesitation of going all out did not pull any punches - quite literally.

After putting on her typical pajamas of shorts and a tank top, she lay down on the bed. For a few minutes, she stared at the ceiling, blinking slowly as she fought to keep her eyes open. The few thoughts she could form in her weary brain centered around Shinra. How did his training go? What is he doing now? Was he thinking about her?

The phone on the table in the hall rang. Hoping the answers to all of her questions waited on the other end of that line was the only thing that gave her the motivation to haul her aching, exhausted body out of the bed. Pulling on her robe for modesty should anyone be in the hallway, she exited her room to answer it.

"Shinra?"

"How did you know it was me?" he asked.

Phoenix sighed with relief. She was so happy to hear his voice she could cry - if she weren't so tired.

"I didn't. I was just hoping. It's great to hear your voice," she gushed.

"Yours too. I especially miss those sexy little whispers in my ear," he returned to tease her - only half joking.

"Shinra," she sighed, feeling herself blush hotly.

"So many times today I thought about you. I wish you could have seen me. I practically flew!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"I'm so proud of you. I'm glad to hear the training is going great," she said.

"How are things with you?"

"I'm so tired. And I hurt all over. I've got bruises on my bruises. Karim whipped my ass...but you should see him!"

"Karim did what now?"

Phoenix could hear the fury in his voice.

"It's training, Shinra. My father observed and moderated the whole thing," she assured him.

"I'm not sure if that makes me feel better or worse," he admitted with a sigh of exasperation.

"Enemies aren't going to take it easy on me. How will I learn and get better with easy training? They won't make allowances because I'm a girl," she muttered irritably.

"I'm guessing Karim tried to do that?"

"You are correct. It didn't take too much convincing for him to understand I can hold my own in a fight."

Shinra laughed. The sound warmed her inside.

"I bet not. I've seen how you fight when you mean it."

"It offends me a little that you think I would need handicaps or allowances," she pouted, leaning against the wall. "It's no big deal. Just a few bumps and bruises."

Phoenix wrapped the robe around her body to hide her legs as if he could see the injuries through the phone.

"It's not that. I just...I just can't bear the thought of anything bad happening to you. I can't stand the fact that you're hurting even if it is only bumps and bruises," he said.

"I know. Right back at ya. How's Beni been treating you?"

"Really good. I'm learning a lot. I think Arthur has become his favorite punching bag. At least he was today anyway," he added. The thought of what the next day might hold for him gave him reason to feel a bit apprehensive.

There was a pause in the conversation, a long silence extending between them. It wasn't necessarily an awkward pause, but neither one of them knew what to say. They were exhausted and ready for bed but neither one wanted to give up their tenuous connection to the other provided by the phone.

Phoenix could feel her eyelids growing heavy and wanting to close to stop the stinging of her eyeballs. She resisted the urge to slide down the wall to sit on the floor. If she did, she would fall asleep right here in the hall with the phone next to her ear.

"Shinra?"

"I know. We should hang up."

Another pause.

Shinra twisted and untwisted the coiled cord of the phone around his finger. Her old bedroom was the one he presently called his own. He would swear he could still smell her scent in that room. Hopefully it would help him sleep soundly. He thought he heard her breathing getting deeper and heavier. She had to be completely worn out.

"I miss you," he said to keep the conversation going and to check if she was awake.

"I miss you too," she returned, her words slightly slurred.

"You should get some sleep. I will call again as soon as I can. I love you."

"I love you too."

Phoenix continued to hold the receiver to her ear. She did not hear a tell tale click from the other end. She smiled.

"You're still there aren't you?" she asked.

"I am. Okay. I'm hanging up for real this time. Good night."

"Good night."

Phoenix forced herself to hang up the phone. Hearing him hang up before her would hurt a little despite the fact one of them needed to or they would stay there all night. Retreating to her room, she flopped down on the bed. Within seconds, she drifted off. The only Kusakabe she dreamed about was Shinra.