Author's Note: Hi everyone! This update has been a long time coming so I hope it was worth the wait. I wrote and rewrote this chapter so many times I lost count. I realized I had gone off on a tangent straying from my original vision and tone for this story. I think I'm back on track now.
I hope this chapter turned out okay in the end. I've fiddled with it until I'm tired of looking at it, and all the words look the same. I apologize if I missed any additional edits to simple things like spelling errors or grammar. Please let me know what you think. So with that being said, Happy New Year and happy reading!
Phoenix stood in the middle of the training arena alone. It was early, barely past dawn. She needed time to get her mind into a more peaceful place before training. Lifting her right foot while balancing on her left, she pressed the sole to her inner thigh to assume the tree pose.
Training had been intense the last few days with a no holds barred approach, both of them going at each other as if they were enemies. She had bruises on bruises along with numerous scrapes and lots of sore muscles. Her sparring with Captain Obi or even Benimaru had never been this extreme.
The muddled state of her mind is far worse than the battered condition of her body. Since she had been here at the First separated from Shinra, she had not experienced a single incident of the White Clad Commander sneaking into her psyche. Her brain had connected a few dots forming a picture she did not like. The idea of Shinra facilitating these encounters, albeit through no conscious thought or desire of his own, is as unbearable as it is logical.
Instead of clearing her mind, Phoenix found herself fixating on Shinra. She contemplated how his training might be going. No doubt Benimaru would be giving him hell and not letting up. He would suffering quite a few bumps and bruises himself. She couldn't wait to see him, to find out what he's learned and how much he's improved. Pride in him swelled inside her chest.
Phoenix wobbled. Her mind swayed and so did her body.
"Ugh," she groaned, dropping her foot to the ground. "This isn't working."
Phoenix shook her arms and walked around in circles to loosen up her tense muscles.
"Okay. Let's try this again," she coached herself, standing with her feet hip width apart in mountain pose. Maybe she would do better to stay in complete contact with the ground to literally anchor herself to something stable and unmoving.
Placing her palms together, holding them parallel to her chest, she closed her eyes and cleared her mind picturing nothing but an endless white emptiness. Yikes. Not a good visualization. Green is a nice relaxing color. Grass. Trees. A park. A perfect beautiful place to have a picnic with Shinra. Soon she has a scenario in her head of them sitting on a blanket, feeding each other strawberries.
Phoenix longed for his touch. A simple hug would be so nice. A kiss positively sublime. For him to make love to her would be nothing short of reaching paradise itself. A delightful thrill ran up her spine at the idea of him taking her into his arms and laying her down softly on her bed. She shivered with excitement.
"Phoenix."
She screamed at the sound of his voice whispering her name directly into her ear. The warm breath caressing her neck like her lover's touch startled her causing her to spin away, hands raised and ready to fight. She blinked at him in confusion. He isn't supposed to be here.
"Well, speak of the devil and he shall appear," Phoenix joked, receiving a cocky smirk in response to her statement.
That isn't his smile, she thought. Then she realized she never felt him syncing with her, their hearts joining and beating as one. Why didn't I feel him?
Something is wrong here. She stared at his face. HIs smug grin bordered on patronizing probably because he had been able to sneak up on her and scare the hell out of her. This man is wrong. Very wrong.
"What are you doing here, Shinra?" she asked, her fingers curling to form fists while keeping them held in the air in preparation to fight brawler style.
"What are you doing?" he questioned her with an uneasy chuckle. "Is that any way to greet the man you love?"
The man opened his arms inviting her in for a hug. Phoenix had absolutely no desire to go to him and embrace him. Quite the opposite. Repulsed by his presence, she backed away a step while keeping her eyes on him in case he decided to attach.
The stranger lowered his arms. The smile melted from his face. His eyes widened and shimmered with tears transforming into sad, wounded puppy dog eyes.
"Aren't you happy to see me?" he asked with a dejected tone.
"You're supposed to be in Asakusa training with Beni. You're not supposed to be here. Why are you here?" she demanded, taking another step back when he put one foot forward.
"I missed you of course. I couldn't wait another minute to see you."
Shinra would never disrespect Benimaru's generous offer to teach him just to come see her. They both knew they had precious little time to train and getting better is critical to prepare for their next inevitable clash with the White Clad. Her next brush with them is about to happen because there is no way this guy is Shinra. He can only be another White Clad in disguise, his face altered by an impressive and frightening talent of one of their ranks.
"Who are you?" Phoenix interrogated him, switching to offense as she slid one foot forward slightly to fortify her stance.
"Damn," the impersonator sighed, lowering his eyes to the ground. He knew she knew and there is no longer a reason to pretend. That scary, disdainful smile returned to his lips. "I told them you were too smart to fall for this...especially not a second time. So why don't you just make life easy for both of us and come with me."
Phoenix glanced at the hand he extended to her. The palm was face up, fingers extended in a silent request to take his hand and go with him. She laughed. Did he really expect her to go with him willingly? His confident façade crumble into confusion before swiftly shifting to anger.
"All right. Just remember I gave you the option to come quietly. We could have done this without anyone getting hurt," he threatened her.
"No we couldn't," she returned with a derisive smile.
The man retracted his outstretched hand to reach for something at his belt. He produced what looked like a miniature version of one of Lieutenant Hinawa's submachine guns to point it at her.
Phoenix felt a rush of gratitude toward the man for familiarizing her with guns and how they work. He had even shot her once with a non-lethal round to give her an idea of what it was like to be hit. Unfortunately, that training did not prepare for this because that is no ordinary gun.
A bola shot out rather than bullets or fireballs or anything else she expected from a gun. The fiery chain hit her square in the middle of her chest and the two flaming balls on the end wrapped around her body twice in a matter of seconds to pin her arms to her sides.
When he lowered the bola gun, preparing to aim at her legs to further incapacitate her, Phoenix unleashed the bird for which she was named. The wings broke through the chain, freeing her.
"Dante, attack," she ordered the firebird, pointing at the intended target standing in front of her.
The bird landed on his shoulders, knocking him to the ground. He screamed and aimed the gun at the creature but the phoenix pinned him to the ground with one huge taloned foot, trapping his arms by his sides. The sharp beak stabbed at his eyes instantly burning them out of his head which set off horrid screeches of agony.
Captain Burns heard the commotion from his room and peeked out of his window to see what was happening. He could see the flames of the phoenix at the training field so jumped through his window to run that way.
Not much shocked him but seeing his daughter having who looked like the man she loved held to the ground by her fiery beast shook him a little. The bird burned brighter, the flames changing from red and orange to yellow and white as the temperature raised to incinerate the man's clothes. As he got closer, the horror of seeing the manifestation of her power ripping strips of flesh from the man and incinerating them to ash that floated away from the thermal wind created by its own heat froze him in his tracks.
"Phoenix, stop!" Captain Burns yelled, making his leaden feet move forward.
But she did not stop. She did not seem to hear him at all. He wanted to cover his ears to block out the tortured shrieks of the terrified man as she commenced to burning him to death, dissolving his flesh with the white hot flames of the tremendous phoenix holding him in its fiery clutches.
"STOP! That's an order!" he bellowed reaching the fence.
The incredible heat produced by the creature raised his body temperature but he absorbed without noticing as he observed the macabre cremation taking place before his very eyes. It was like watching an Infernal burn up as the man's bones were reduced to white dust.
"Captain! What's happening?" Lieutenant Flam asked as he ran up on the confusing scene. "Who is, I mean, was that?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Stop her."
"But it's too late. Whoever it was is gone," Karim argued. He winced and raised his arm to shield his face from the blast of heat emanating from the training field.
Although there was nothing left of the man, not even his bones, she did not recall the phoenix.
"Stop her," Burns commanded his subordinate. "Before she hurts someone else."
Karim pulled out his instrument as he walked the end of the training field to enter the gate. Standing at the edge, the heat being too much for him to get too close, he blew the instrument to encase the huge firebird in a cocoon of ice to not only extinguish it but to make sure she could not ignite it again either.
"Phoenix! What the hell was that?" her father yelled as he approached her.
She looked dazed, her eyes glassy. Her entire body had turned red as a cherry. She swayed, her knees buckling.
Captain Burns rushed forward to catch her before she hit the ground which had become blackened and charred from the fierce heat put off by the bird. He wrapped his arms around her and held her to his chest.
"You feel like you're on fire," he murmured, the heat of her skin burning into his. "What the hell did you do?"
"Overheating," she mumbled, her eyes rolling back in her head.
The massive snowdrift had already melted in the residual heat. Burns bent and lifted her in a Princess carry to rush her to her room.
"We need to get her cooled down. Follow me," he ordered Flam who had to jog to keep up with his Captain's long fast strides.
"Call Captain Hibana," Phoenix requested as they entered dormitory building. "She will know what to do."
Burns winced. Although she meant no harm, her words were like little needles pricking him. He was her father, and he should know what do but he didn't. The one thing he did know is they needed to get her body temperature down as quickly as possibly.
As they entered the bathroom, Burns started raising his own body temperature to generate the heat Karim Flame required to activate his thermoacoustic refrigeration. Without undressing her, he lay her in the empty tub, turning on the cold water faucet only. She did not flinch as the water covered her feet and flowed into the tub around her body.
Karim created a fine spray of snow rather than attempting to form bigger particles which might stab or injure her. He put down the large tuba like instrument to assist her father with scooping up handfuls of the icy powder from the floor that did not make into to the bathtub. The snow heaped on top of her melted quickly but at least it cooled her a little.
"You stay with her. I'm going to call Hibana. Apparently her overheating like this is not an unusual occurrence," Burns muttered, stalking out of the room.
"Yes, Sir," Karim replied dutifully.
Karim grabbed a washcloth to fill it with snow to place it on her forehead. The tiny ice crystals turned to water almost instantly sending rivulets trickling down her face. Her face and chest were still bright red as if she had developed a terrible sunburn. Her arms and parts of her legs left uncovered by her capri length leggings had already lightened to a dark pink since they were under the cold water.
"This is Captain Burns from Company One. I need to speak to your Captain immediately," Burns barked at the poor unsuspecting man who answered the phone at Company Five.
The man did not bother asking any questions. Hibana came to the phone quickly - a whole lot quicker than Burns expected to her come in response to a man's call. If he were not so worried about his daughter, he would have been amused.
"What's wrong?" Hibana asked as soon as she got on the phone without wasting time on niceties.
"It's Phoenix. She overheated."
"Get her into a tub of water and ice. It's imperative to bring her temperature down quickly," she said talking fast.
"We already did that. What do we do now?" he inquired.
"We wait," she said.
"That's it? We wait?" he repeated with an incredulous tone.
"What happened?" Hibana asked, her voice low.
"Someone attacked her."
"Is he dead?" she asked.
"Yes."
"I'm not surprised. Whoever attacked her was probably made to look like Shinra which really pissed her off."
"Obviously," he returned, trying not think about what he had seen. Excessive force including murder is sometimes necessary to preserve life especially one's own. It was funny how that sort of thing never bothered him until he witnessed his daughter killing a man.
"I'm coming over," she declared, hanging up the phone.
"Great," Burns muttered dropping the receiver onto the cradle.
Taking a moment, he inhaled a deep breath. He really did not feel like dealing with that woman right now. However, her coming here could be a good thing. He had questions, and she would have answers. Whether or not she would forthcoming with those answers is another matter entirely.
Pushing aside his annoyance with the inevitable arrival of Hibana, he returned to check on Phoenix.
"How is she?" Burns asked Karim who was refilling the compress with ice.
"Her temperature is coming down, but she hasn't regained consciousness. Captain," he hesitated, dabbing her red cheeks. "What happened to her?"
"I don't know. I'm hoping HIbana can explain this."
Captain Burns hated not having a damn clue what was happening to her or how to stop it. He knew about the condition called Tephrosis, but this seemed to be something different. There were no burns on her body, no damage to her skin at all. It's almost as if all the damage was inside as if she was burning internally.
They did not have to wait long before the pink haired Captain came running in, literally, her high heels clicking on the tile floor. Her usually flawless and lineless face was strained with worry. Accordion like folds developed between her eyes where her eyebrows met over her nose when she saw Phoenix.
"Move," she ordered Karim who dutifully acquiesced. Not only was she a Captain but her tone held a 'don't fuck with me' vibe he could not ignore. She pressed her hands to the unconscious woman's face. "Phoenix, what the hell have you done?"
"Her temperature is down, but she has not shown any signs of regaining consciousness," Karim informed her, standing behind her.
"She needs water. We need to get her to drink something. Go get several bottles," she commanded him.
Karim did not argue and left to go to the mess hall to retrieve the water.
"What the hell is this? What do you know about it?" Burns demanded gruffly.
"You and I both know what it isn't. It's not Tephrosis. Has anyone called Shinra?" Hibana inquired.
"Not yet. I'll do that when she regains consciousness."
"It might be a while."
Burns did not like the sound of that at all. He had never seen Hibana the slightest bit upset which made his apprehension rise further.
"Why are you so worried? It's not like you to worry about anything...or anyone," Burns remarked, watching the woman as she studied Phoenix's face that was now a shade of fuchsia.
"I have the right to be concerned about a subordinate. Even a former one," she returned in tone as frigid as the ice she held to his daughter's head.
"There's more to it than that."
"If you must know, I am becoming extremely worried because this is happening to her more often. It's as if someone is provoking her, pushing her to overheat. I don't know who or what they want but - "
"What are you not telling me?" he interrupted her. "Your main concern is the frequency of her overheating. Why? Tell me," Burns demanded, crossing his arms and glaring down at the woman kneeling beside the tub.
"I have recently become privy to some shocking new information," she announced, patting the washcloth over Phoenix's face.
His gut tightened with apprehension. "What information?"
"We should get her out of there before hypothermia sets in," Hibana announced as if to avoid answering. She stood up and moved out of the way.
Burns was about to protest until he noticed Phoenix's skin had suddenly gone white and a bluish tint encircled her lips. While he picked her up out of the bathtub, Hibana gathered towels.
Seeing his daughter this way struck fear so deeply into his heart it made nausea bloom and spread through his gut. He had done everything in his power, even going as far as sending her away and eradicating evidence of him out of her life, to keep her safe. How can he save her from this? Her own body seemed destined to kill her.
"Lay her on the bed," she ordered him gently.
"Could you go out for a minute?" she requested. "I need to change her clothes."
Captain Burns, more of a worried father than a Captain at the moment, hesitated. He did not want to leave his daughter.
"Just for a minute," Hibana assured him as if sensing his quandary.
"I'll call and let Shinra know," he informed her, taking his leave. He might as well since he had to wait anyway.
When he called Company Seven, the second in command, Konro Sagamiya answered the phone. After he identified himself and asked to speak to Shinra, the man went to retrieve him with no questions asked. People knew if Burns was calling there had to be a drastic reason because he usually opted out of all contact allowing his Lieutenants, mostly Flam, take care of those things.
"Sir, has something happened to Phoenix?" Shinra asked.
"She has overheated. I assume you're acquainted with this problem."
"Yes, Sir. She has done it before."
He refrained from asking how many times and just what happens now.
"She attacked and killed a man. He looked like you. Can you tell me why?" Burns questioned him an accusatory manner.
"That man was a White Clad. They have a member who can alter people's faces to look like anyone, Sir. We encountered that problem here in Asakusa," Shinra explained.
"I see." He had the feeling he should attend the next meeting called by Obi himself and ask a few questions of his own.
"I'll be there this evening to see her, Sir. As much as I want to, I can't leave my training with Captain Shinmon."
"I understand. There's nothing you can do for her right now anyway."
"Sir, I love your daughter. She means everything to me," he confessed. "Some day, I want to marry her."
Burns hoped she lived long enough for that to become a reality. The idea of becoming a grandfather never crossed his mind until this moment. It created the same kind of warm fuzzy feelings in his chest Phoenix's mother had the first time he laid eyes on her.
"Be safe getting here to see her. I can't have her worrying about you. Good-bye, Kusakabe," he said.
"Good-bye, Sir."
"You can come back in," Hibana called to him as he hung up the phone.
Phoenix lay propped up in the bed dressed in a gray sweatshirt and gray capri length sweatpants. Hibana sat on the bed facing her, holding her hand and stroking the back of it. Burns took a seat on the second bed a few feet away.
"Leonard," she began to be promptly cut off.
"We're not that friendly, Hibana. Don't try to sugar coat anything. Just say it," he said, lacing his fingers together to create one big fist he held between his knees.
"Do you know the legend of the phoenix?" she asked.
"I am in no mood for ancient mystical nonsense."
"Are you familiar with the story?" she repeated, a harsh edge to her voice. Her blue eyes with the pink flower shaped pupils riveted themselves onto his single green eye. "If you don't, you need to know. It's important."
"The phoenix is a magical bird that kills itself by burning up and is reborn from the ashes. Correct?" He tightened his fingers until the knuckles turned white to hold onto his patience.
"My source has given me new information about her experiments. They had begun to dabble with human combustion on a genetic but not to stop it. They wanted to determine if they could genetically engineer specific abilities, to choose what kind of pyrokinesis a child is born with. Phoenix's mother was the lead scientist on the project," she said, pausing afterward.
"So Phoenix was just an experiment after all," he mumbled, staring at his hands.
"The phoenix belonged to her mother first, but it was killing her. Her body could not handle the extent of the power of the creature."
Burns struggled for control. He rocked back and forth, curling and uncurling his fingers.
"She chose you because of your ability to withstand and control excessive amounts of heat," she said, speaking slowly and softly.
"I was a sperm donor? The perfect specimen who fit her goals?" he questioned, raising his eyes to meet Hibana's.
Her eyes held pity for him so he quickly looked away.
"At first that was her only objective. But according her journals, she fell in love and sincerely loved you. She planned to tell you the truth, call of your relationship, then she found out she was pregnant."
"Well," he said, jumping to his to begin pacing the room. "After all that she still failed in accomplishing her objective, didn't she?"
"I'm afraid she did," Hibana responded sadly, stroking Phoenix's cheek. "She allowed the bug to bite her to make it look like an accident. She used her own power to consume herself so that Phoenix could be born and be saved from being a prisoner of Haijima or worse... a weapon for the Knights. She knew your Company would be called to put the fire out and you would take your child away from that place."
"Holy shit," Burns mumbled, pressing the heel of his hand to forehead.
His brain had to be melting from the shocking revelation she dumped on him. His head ached, and he felt like throwing up. His knees became a little uncertain making him wobble so he sat down on the other side of the bed beside his daughter.
Suddenly he understood why Hibana tried to keep these things from Phoenix only allowing her access to certain knowledge while fabricating the rest. Sometimes a kind lie really is better than the painful truth. He almost would have rather not known what actually happened that day.
"Are you all right?" Hibana asked him.
"I'm fine," he insisted, picking up his daughter's hand to lay it on top of his.
Her hand still felt cold from the ice bath. She is so small. The tips of her fingers barely reached the first knuckle of his fingers. She is his child. He couldn't let her die. Her mother had trusted him to save her after all. He did it once, and he needed to do it again - somehow
"Here's the water," Flam declared, dumping the bottles onto the table between the beds.
"It's about time," Hibana fussed at him, picking up a bottle.
"What do we do now?" he asked, noticing his Captain held Phoenix's hand with an exceedingly sorrowful expression on his face. A lump formed in his throat. Is she dying?
"We give her water," Hibana said, twisting off the cap of one of the bottles.
She signaled to Burns to assist by lifting his daughter up a little so she would not choke her by pouring too much water or douse her if Phoenix did not swallow. She carefully place the bottle against the unconscious woman's unmoving lips. After pouring in a few drops, she massaged Phoenix's throat to make her swallow. When they heard a gulp, everyone breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief.
"We will continue doing this for as long at it takes. We watch. We hope." Her eyes fixed themselves on Burns. "We pray. You remember how to do that right?"
The concerned father's big thick fingers brushed across his daughter's cool, pleasantly pink cheek. "I never forgot. I've prayed for her a lot through the years. She's my child."
Neither Hibana nor Flam spoke of the stoic man's uncharacteristic display of tenderness and affection, laying his heart bare in front of them - and they never would.
"At least one of us should be with her until Shinra arrives," she said, dribbling a few more drops into Phoenix's slightly parted lips. This time she swallowed on her own.
Not one of them had any intention of leaving.
~\..'../~
"There you are." Despite it's softness, the overwhelming menace in the affectless voice of the little Commander rang clear in her ears.
Opening her eyes, the blinding white made Phoenix close them again.
"Oh, no," she gasped. How did he find me?
Although not awake, but caught in that terrible dreamscape again, she slowly parted her eyelids. A cold mist surrounded her, dampening the air and chilling her skin. She shivered, hugging her body in a useless attempt to warm herself.
"It's quite easy actually with assistance of my dear brother," he said, somehow making dear brother sound sarcastic with a biting edge to his tone. "Don't forget here I can hear your thoughts. There is nothing you can hide from me."
He confirmed what she had already assumed about how he connected to her psychically.
"What do you want?" she asked, looking around for him since she could not see him yet.
"You of course. You know why by now. You are not a stupid woman, and I refuse to explain myself again."
Wow that was almost a compliment and not demeaning, she thought watching her breath puff out in white steamy bursts.
Shō Kusakabe materialized out of the fog right in front of her like a phantom coming back to haunt her again.
Phoenix backed away while keeping her eyes stubbornly locked onto his. When he stretched out his hand to her, she took another step back and glimpsed down at the hand reaching for her. He held it out in supplication, palm up fingers slightly curled, as if he wanted her to place hers in it.
"You were literally born to be one of us. Come with me to take your rightful place," he requested with forced politeness.
"I'm not what you think I am. They've been lying to you. I'm nothing more than a failed experiment...one most likely undertaken by Haijima under orders from your Evangelist," she spat out like the title left a bad taste in her mouth.
"You are lying to save your pathetic skin."
The diminutive Commander inhaled deeply, his flaring nostrils betraying his rising irritation with the obstinate woman while the rest of his snow white face remained impassive. He allowed his hand to gradually lower to his side.
"I must say, I'm impressed," Shō said. "Not only did you not disappoint me with terminating my subordinate so quickly, you surpassed my expectations with your brutality."
He is being frighteningly complimentary...almost kind, she thought. He terrified her right now. Edging back a little more, her eyes dropped to his hand again when it moved under his cloak. She assumed he rested it on the handle of his sword but was keeping it hidden rather than being openly threatening per usual.
"Why would that impress you?" Phoenix questioned him, genuinely curious.
The icy and emotionless Commander never struck her as a sadist. He never seemed to give a shit about anything one way or another. His directives, fulfilling the wishes of the Evangelist, and believing the bizarre ideations the Knights had brainwashed into seemed to be the only things he cared about.
"I knew you would see through his false visage easily. That man should have known he was undertaking a suicide mission. He allowed his arrogance and idiocy by underestimating you to be his undoing. I must confess you awed me with the barbaric, absolutely savage method by which you killed that man. The way you picked him apart using your firebird was positively inspiring," he said almost sounding pleased.
Phoenix surprised herself by not feeling the slightest twinge of guilt. That man had come to abduct her and bring her to the Evangelist. She had no qualms about murdering him to protect herself.
"Do you always speak so callously about your subordinates?"
"They are nothing more than tools to be used. A means to an end. Just like you," he added scornfully, his top lip twitching at the top as if it wanted to peel back into a derisive sneer. "Beyond that, who are you to criticize me for tactless cruelty when you can kill with such swiftness and efficiency? Am I really the true evil here?"
Phoenix flinched from the sharp, stinging words as if he had physically slapped her. He knew her thoughts all too well.
"Sometimes it's hard for me to believe your Shinra's brother," she shot back.
As she looked into his hard as rubies eyes, the emptiness gave her reason for pause. Shō is no sadist. Despite being the lethal Commander of a bunch of religious zealots, he is nothing more than a hurt little boy striking back - just like they taught him.
She steeled her resolve. He is manipulating her emotions using them against her to weaken her will. The psychological and most likely physical abuse inflicted upon him by the White Clads must have been awful. It pained her heart to imagine what they could have done to make him this way.
Phoenix pushed her anger down to maintain a cool head so she could choose her words just as carefully as him.
"I feel sorry for you, Shō Kusakabe. You were stolen away from your family and brainwashed from infancy. You're a pawn just as much as I am and you can't even see it. It makes me sad you think you're fighting for some noble cause, for lofty ideas of making this world a better place."
"I could say the same thing about you," he retorted without the slightest twinge of irony. His eyes nor his face registered any emotion to betray his words.
"Hmph," Phoenix snorted derisively. "I can't disagree. It really is true for both of us. We both think we're right, doing the right thing for mankind. I guess we do have something that links us besides your brother."
"You are not where you are supposed to be," he said not allowing his incredibly tranquil semblance to falter. "Come with me."
This time when he stretched out his hand, Phoenix took it. She pulled him forward, right into her arms to embrace him. He stiffened in her arms feeling like a block of ice since he was already cold. Remaining perfectly still, he did not try to shove her away or free himself in any way. He did not try to pull his sword either.
"You're not where you belong either," she whispered, hugging him tightly. "You belong with your brother. He loves you. He will not stop until he brings you home. And neither will I."
"You will die trying," he said as a resolute promise rather a threat. He almost sounded sad, a little regretful.
Before she could process the odd tone of his voice, he was gone. She groaned as the amorphous space between dreams and reality closed shoving her into wakefulness. Her head ached so much she feared her throbbing brain might crack her skull or at the very least send her eyeballs flying out.
"Holy Sol," she croaked, feeling like hot sand had been poured down her esophagus.
"Drink this."
Someone slid an arm under her shoulders, lifting her to a sitting position to sip water from a bottle. The drumbeat of her pulse thrumming in her ears prevented her from hearing the person's voice clearly enough to identify it. The arms were strong and comforting setting her at ease. Her heart palpitated beating against her chest. Shinra had come to her.
She sucked greedily at the water wanting more than he would give her to ease her overwhelming thirst.
"Uh, uh, uh. Slowly...take it slow," he murmured, pushing her hair away from her face.
Phoenix's eyes fluttered open to see his handsome face. Her eyes met two vermillion irises with lily white pupils. HIs broad, toothy grin made her heart beat faster.
"You're here," she sighed, cupping his cheek. "It's really you."
"Yeah, it's me," he confirmed, pressing his forehead to hers.
"Shinra," Phoenix whispered, tears covering her eyes and making them shimmer like liquid silver.
He placed his hand over hers, pressing it more firmly against his cheek. "Your Dad told me what happened. The White Clads again."
"Yeah. I talked to your little brother," she confessed. She decided it was time to tell him about the unusual visits from his brother.
"Huh," Shinra murmured pensively when she finished her explanation.
"I swear I'm not crazy," she promised, feeling his hand squeeze hers reassuringly.
"I know. I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me."
A soft knock came on the door.
"Come in," Phoenix called.
Captain Burns entered.
"Daddy," she breathed, sliding from Shinra's arms to hop off the bed.
Shinra would swear he saw a blush on the man's stony face when his daughter flung herself into his arms.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, casting a glimpse at Shinra who quickly moved off the bed to stand up and salute him.
"Like if my head exploded might feel better," she responded truthfully.
"Dehydration will do that to you. Don't forget to keep drinking your water," he said, turning her toward the bed. "You should lie back down. You've been through quite the ordeal."
Grateful for her father holding on to her as dizziness blurred her vision and caused her knees to buckle, Phoenix leaned heavily on him as he led her to the bed. She dropped heavily onto the mattress and flopped back onto the pillows.
Shinra continued to stand stiffly at her bedside, staring straight ahead at the wall while Captain Burns assisted his daughter with getting situated in the bed.
"Sit down, Kusakabe," Burns said, his stern voice making it sound like an order rather than a polite request.
"Yes, Sir," he replied, swiftly taking a seat beside her.
"Relax, boy. It's been a rough day for everyone."
"Yes, Sir." He exhaled noisily allowing his square shoulders to droop.
"Phoenix, tell me exactly what happened today," her father requested, taking her hand in his.
"A White Clad pretending to be Shinra tried to kidnap me." She glanced at Shinra. "Their Commander wants to speak with me. He believes I'm some spark who will light the inferno that will purge this world of humans," she said, deepening her voice and using a mocking tone paraphrasing the so called prophecy she was given. "Too bad they don't know I'm just a failed monster of their making."
"You heard us talking." Her father rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand as if to comfort her.
"I wasn't dead you know. My subconscious was still active."
"You have a very active subconscious apparently." He managed a smile which greatly softened his tense, angular face.
You have no idea, she thought, a sardonic grin lifting the corners of her mouth. She did indeed have an extraordinarily active unconsciousness considering she would have full on conversations with Shrina's baby brother.
"I would like to think your mother loved us. In her own special way," he said, his hand tightening around hers.
"Yeah, me too. I'm trying hard not to hate her. Carrying around that much anger and hate gets tiring," she sighed wearily, sinking back into her pillows.
"I know. You have to control that temper of yours...or it will kill you," he said with bluntness born from his concern.
"Can we not do this now, Dad? I can't. I just really can't."
"You're right. We shouldn't discuss such things right now You should get some rest," he declared, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead. "I'm glad you're all right."
"Kusakabe," her father said, standing to his feet.
Shinra jumped to his feet, saluting the man. "Yes, Sir? Should I leave, Sir?"
"No. Stay with her. I want you to protect her," he ordered the young man who stood with his arms stiffly by his sides and the maniacal grin of apprehension on his face.
"Yes, Sir," he returned, happy to fulfill that order.
Shinra waited for her father to leave before sitting back down beside her. He put an arm around her, pulling her into his side.
Phoenix lay her head on his chest, closing her eyes.
"What about your training?" she asked.
"I'll go back in the morning as soon as I know you're really okay." He kissed the top of her head.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Making you worry."
"Go to sleep," Shinra sighed, nuzzling his face into her hair and putting both of his arms around her.
"I'm so glad you're here," Phoenix whispered, snuggling into him. "I've missed you so much."
"I missed you too. I love you," he whispered, kissing her forehead.
"No matter what happens. I will always love you, Shinra."
His arms embraced her tighter. "I hate it when you say things like that. It sounds like a good-bye."
Her fingers curled into his t-shirt. His muscular arms around her made her feel safe and secure like no one could ever hurt her.
"It was never meant to happen that way. I wasn't supposed to die." Her mother had spoken these words to her once in a dream. But she felt like she had to die to protect the ones she loved.
Was it a dream? she wondered. Phoenix started to believe her mother had actually come to visit her by some strange means in the same way of Shō Kusakabe. If only she would come again...there are so many questions Phoenix wanted to ask.
"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..." Her mother said before disappearing.
Those cryptic words suddenly made a whole lot more sense. Phoenix exhaled the breath she had been holding without realizing it. Her fingers grasped the material of his shirt tighter in her fist.
"Are you okay?" Shinra asked, stroking her head gently.
"No. I'm most definitely not okay," Phoenix admitted, sniffing to hold back her tears.
"I wish I could I tell you everything will be okay," he murmured, combing his fingers through her hair. "All I can promise is that I will be with you no matter what happens."
"I appreciate your honesty," she sniffled. "Having you with me is all I need."
"You should get some sleep. I won't leave until you're awake," he promised.
Phoenix pressed her ear to his heart synchronizing her breathing with his until her heartbeat matched the steadiness of his to lull her to sleep.