Benimaru woke up in the middle of the night. Staring at the shadows created on the wall by the dim light leaking under the door, he thought about the heated altercation between Phoenix and her Aunt. Barbed words spoken in a venomous tone had been exchanged between the two with no punches pulled. Coming here helped him understand the reason for Phoenix's angry, sarcastic personality with a bitterness that extended beyond the abandonment caused by her mother's death and hating her own powers.

Dinner had been quiet but rife with tension in the awkward silence. Both women stubbornly refused to acknowledge the other's presence. An apology was no where to be had from either one. The willingness to forgive or admit they were wrong was buried beneath their pride.

After picking at her food in the indigestion inducing silence, Phoenix volunteered to do the dishes before everyone was even finished eating. Starting with the pots and pans, she began the chore with much banging and clanging as if to childishly demonstrate her anger toward her aunt in no uncertain terms.

Once done abusing the dishware, miraculously without breaking anything, Phoenix had gone to take a shower then hidden away in her room. Her aunt disappeared as well. Her uncle took Benimaru on a tour of the property inside the biodome explaining the finer points of the engineering it took to build it. Those details were lost on him but at least it distracted him from the taut atmosphere in the house.

Exhaling heavily, agitated with the situation and annoyed with himself for having even come here with Phoenix, Beni got out of bed. He might as well check on her, make sure she had not done something stupid like run away again leaving him behind. He would be severely pissed to say the least. There would not be any simply letting her go and wishing to never see her again this time. There would be hell to pay; he would make damn sure of that.

There was a light on in her room. The illumination peeking out into the hall was tinted pink from the frilly lampshade he remembered seeing on the lamp. The corners of his mouth twitched. He never would have guessed the woman who wore so much black and with such a dramatic personality would have once upon a time been such a cheerful girly girl who loved everything pink with lace and bows.

When Beni's knuckles touched the door to knock, it opened slightly. Listening for sounds inside but hearing none, he pushed it open with a press of his fingertips. Her bed was empty. She was not sitting at her desk. He exhaled in irritation, reigning in his temper that wanted to go from zero to sixty in half a second.

"Damn that girl. Now where the hell could she be?" he muttered to himself.

Benimaru stepped out onto the back porch surveying the expanse around him. This place was freaking huge. At least he had been given a tour and could find his way around well enough not to get lost.

A shuffling sound to his left caught his attention. Glancing over, he saw her Uncle standing beside a tree in his red and blue plaid robe and pajamas. He leaned against the thick trunk of the tree that looked to be many decades old. A thin wisp of white smoke trailed from the cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. Taking a drag from the cigarette, he pulled it from his lips and blew out a cloud of smoke. The man turned his head and smiled at Beni: a sad, apologetic smile.

"You can find her at the waterfall," the man said, answering Beni's unspoken question. "That's her favorite place to go when she has a lot on her mind."

"Not that I really care, but has the relationship between her and her aunt always been this way?"

The man suddenly looked even sadder. He placed the cigarette back between his lips then motioned for Beni to come over with a wave of his hand. He politely offered a cigarette to his guest who declined then slid the pack back into the pocket of his robe.

"Not always. They were really close once. Like a real mother and daughter. When puberty hit, things began to change. We just wrote it off as typical hormonal change, teenage angst, all that stuff. But then her abilities began to emerge. And they were strong. Everyone started to fear her. I think the kid was afraid of herself." Uncle sighed deeply, flicking the ash from his cigarette into the dew covered grass. "Her aunt forbade her to use her powers, insisting she hide them. She said she was embarrassed and ashamed...which wasn't the truth at all. She was afraid. Afraid of losing the girl who had become her precious child."

"Is that why Phoenix began to hate her?"

"Probably. My wife had lost her sister because of her research into pyrokinesis. The same research that was responsible for her niece's abilities. She did not want to lose her too. She became so terribly angry. And resentful. Please don't think too unkindly about my wife. She really is a good woman. Loving. Thoughtful. Proud. Too proud. Determined." He chuckled. "Downright stubborn actually. I know she can be temperamental and harsh. Absolutely cruel sometimes. But it's born from her own fear for the child and losing her. She defended that girl tooth and nail against the villagers and our own workers who said anything disparaging or mean about Phoenix. Sometimes that anger did not go away quickly enough, spilling over onto the child it was meant to protect."

"I see." Beni blew out an exasperated breath. He had no interest in their family's history. He already knew all he wanted to know and then some. His intention had never been to come here and get involved in their family drama. He had only wanted to escort her here to make sure she did not get off on any stops in between. He was supposed to go back home to his mostly quiet life in Asakusa without staying over.

"I want to thank you for taking care of her. I do hope you will continue to do so," Uncle boldly requested.

"It's not place to take care of her. I am not her father. I am certainly not her boyfriend either," he added with evident displeasure in his voice from the audacity of the request. "I am no longer her captain for that matter."

"I know that," he responded, blowing out another cloud of smoke that swirled around his head. "But you were her Captain once. You're her friend. She loves you like a brother. Apparently you care for her in some way or you wouldn't be here with her."

Benimaru could feel heat raising up his neck and spreading over his face. His face twitched in agitation. He cleared his throat and stared up the the star filled sky through the triangular panes of glass.

Uncle cast a sidelong glimpse at him, raising an eyebrow. "Am I wrong?"

"I only wanted to make sure she got here safe without wandering away in between. She's caused me enough trouble, and I didn't want anymore. That's all."

"I see. I hate to admit it but that girl, just like her mother, had a tendency to run...usually right into trouble. Like the old saying, when the going gets tough, she got going."

"You know her well," Beni scoffed, sliding his hand into the front of his kimono.

"I do." The man smiled. "I have always understood her in a way her aunt never could."

Uncle held up his index finger. A flame appeared at the tip. He blew lightly on it sending out a six foot long stream of fire with a crackle and a whoosh. A human flamethrower. The flames circled and concentrated into a fire ball that gradually grew smaller before dissolving into a puff of black smoke.

"I did not expect that. Explains why you were able to mentor her."

"I haven't used my abilities since I trained Phoenix. And I never used them around my wife after her sister died. That's why I told Phoenix to leave here."

"So she didn't really run away after all?"

"Not without being told to do so. Her aunt would have never let her go so I never said a word and neither did Phoenix. There was no use in her staying here. She couldn't hide her ability and needed to find someone who could help her control it better. That thing was beyond my ability." He cast another sidelong look at Beni, stubbing out his cigarette with the toe of his slipper. "I suppose the person she found was you. Thank you." He exhaled as if relieved, patting his rounded belly. "You should go find her. Make sure she isn't throwing herself a pity party."

Beni allowed himself a small smile of amusement. Uncle did know Phoenix incredibly well. She had a tendency to get too far into her own head at times which always led to trouble. Nodding in acknowledgement, he was off to make the long trek to the waterfall. When he found her, she was sitting in the lush green grass at the side of the pool the man made waterfall poured into. He noted she was wearing a white nightgown with ruffles at the collar with a fuzzy soft pink cardigan sweater over it. This quiet pastel princess was a new side of her had not seen before. Perhaps it really was not new at all. Only hidden deep under anger and fear eating her up. How much of that bullshit had the thing inside of her been responsible for?

"This is the beginning of the entire water system for this structure," Phoenix said when he approached her. "This waterfall provides all of the water for the irrigation system and the house. It recycles and purifies. It also creates the rain that falls inside the dome."

"Have you felt sorry enough for yourself yet?" Beni inquired, taking a seat in the grass beside her.

"I haven't been feeling sorry for myself," she sighed, hugging her knees that were bent up to her chest. "I'm just thinking. Trying to figure some things out."

Her shockingly polite and sass free reply took him by surprise. Her time with the White Clad and losing her abilities seemed to have humbled Phoenix drastically but did nothing to sweeten her words or quell her obstinance when angry.

"Still planning on going back to the Eighth tomorrow?" Beni asked.

"Yeah," she sniffed, swiping at her cheek with the back of her hand.

"Are you crying?" He leaned forward and craned his neck to see her face, but she quickly looked away.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Nothing." Placing his palms on the grass behind him, he leaned back and looked up at the ceiling of the dome made of criss crossing beams of steel painted white with glass panels between.

"I miss Shinra. I'm worried about him. They were going back into the Nether to hunt for the White Clad."

"I know."

He knew nothing about the details of the mission and did not ask since he wanted no part of it. Perhaps that was another reason he came with her - to distance himself even further from that mess. Sometimes he grew extremely agitated because he wanted nothing to do with any of these situations but somehow got sucked into them - mostly by members of the Eighth. All he wanted was to be left alone and live his quiet life in Asakusa with the occasional Infernal issue. As of late, he always seemed to getting drawn into someone else's drama through no fault of his own.

With a gushing exhale of annoyance, Beni flopped onto his back to gaze through the glass at the stars. He missed the view of the stars from home while sitting on a rooftop or in the bell tower.

"Beni."

"Hmmm?" He lay his arm over his eyes as if to block out what might be coming next.

"Do you ever regret meeting me?"

"Of course I do," he replied a little too quickly. "Every damn day lately."

He inhaled and waited for the barrage of histrionic insults and curse words. When only a sigh came out of her mouth, he opened one eye and peeked out from under his arm at her. She was looking up at the stars too.

"Sorry I made your life a living hell. That seems to happen to everyone who meets me."

"Oh, stop it," he snapped, sitting up. "There's no time for feeling sorry for yourself. You know, I almost miss it when you would get angry and fly off the handle, lashing out with that nasty mouth of yours when you're hurting. You're just like your aunt so you shouldn't be too angry with her. You're too damn much alike and that's why you fight."

"What?" Phoenix turned her head to look at him, her eyes wide and round.

"Don't deny. You're too damn much like her. You have this bad habit of acting like an injured animal. You strike out at those who offer you a helping hand. Haven't you heard the adage, don't bite the hand that feeds you? And another thing. You're so damn disrespectful," he chastised her in the manner of a furious parent - or an annoyed big brother.

"Mmmm," she hummed thoughtfully, turning her gaze back to the waterfall. "You're right."

"What?"

Her mild response and acceptance of his criticism caught him unawares again. Her ability to shock him with her quiet and accepting responses was becoming disturbing.

"You're right," she repeated clearly, picking at the grass at her feet. The verdant scent of the broken stalks permeated the air around them. "That's why I've made the concerted effort to change. To become a better, more obedient soldier. Look where being a pain in the ass got me. Not very fucking far. And you hate me."

"You're really starting to freak me out. Stop it. Stop this right now," he commanded her, standing to his feet. "Let's go back to the house. You should get some sleep before we leave."

"Yes, Captain," she dutifully agreed, taking his outstretched hand.

"Since when did you start taking orders without an argument? Stop that shit this minute. Aren't you going to call me an asshole or something?"

"Isn't that disrespectful, sir?"

"Okay, enough. Don't use my own words against me. You know I hate that shit too. Just shut up."

"As you wish, Captain."

~\'/~

The silence in the Matchbox was heavy, suffocating. The occasional sniffle or sigh were the only sounds to disrupt the overwhelmingly sorrowful quietude. The fire soldiers had suffered heavy losses during their endeavor. Despite the regretful casualties, they had succeeded in their plan to stop the White Clad before the group detonated the bomb that would set off a chain of events to destroy the world as they know it.

Shinra rubbed his hand across his forehead that was slick with sweat and greasy from soot. His belly tumbled with nausea from the scent of blood still assaulting his nostrils. He had been splattered with the blood of several comrades, either by being present when they met their tragic end at the hands of a White Clad or by checking on fallen fellow fire soldiers while dead or in the midst of dying.

Even when the vehicle was stopped and parked in the garage of the Eighth's Fire Cathedral, no one moved for a few minutes. Finally, Arthur turned to open the doors which prompted everyone to disembark. Most of their gear, filthy from dirt and blood and sprinkled with shrapnel, was shed in the garage. They would clean that later. For now, they needed a shower. Food would be necessary despite their lack of appetite. Sleep would eventually come, fitful and unrestful, filled with nightmares of the recent trauma they suffered in the Nether.

As soon as they entered the house, everyone went on high alert. Someone was here. Further down the hall, the aroma of food reached them which enabled them to relax. A threat would never cook them a meal. But who did?

Is it...could it be her?, Shinra wondered. Pushing his way through his comrades ahead of him in the hallway, he rushed toward the kitchen. In disbelief, he stared at the back of the woman wearing a brown dress covered in white polka dots. There was a large pink bow in the small of her back from the apron tied at her waist. Her black hair had been pulled back into a little ponytail at the nape of her neck. Standing at the stove, she poured a bit of the broth she was stirring in a pot into a tiny bowl and slurped it noisily for a taste test.

"Hmmm...a little more salt maybe," she murmured to herself, reaching for the salt cellar to grab a pinch.

"Phoenix?" Shinra inquired breathlessly.

"Oh!" she cried out, jumping what seemed to be a foot off the floor after he startled her.

She whirled around to see the doorway of the kitchen filled with the darkened, dirty, bedraggled faces of her company - her family. They looked so tired and despondent with red rimmed eyes staring at her from filthy faces, some with tear tracks through the muck. Beni was right. They had desperately needed someone to be home, to greet them with kindness and a meal.

"Welcome home," she greeted them, bowing deeply. "I will have dinner ready in a little bit so - "

Shinra rushed forward, grabbing her in a crushing embrace. Phoenix was glad she inhaled before he got hold of her because she could no longer breath once his strong arms compressed her rib cage in the bear hug. Before her lungs protested too much, he loosened his embrace but did not let her go.

Exhaling, she lay her head on his shoulder, pressing her forehead against his damp neck. Her arms went around his waist. She did not care that he was filthy and sweaty. He always smelled like smoke so that did not bother her. It was the stench of scorched human flesh clinging to him that made her nose wrinkle, but she did not back away. Although he did not appear to be injured physically, she had no doubt his mind and emotions sure had taken a severe hit during this mission. The pain showed on his face - all of their faces.

"I'm so glad you're here," Shinra whispered, brushing his lips across her cheek.

"Me too," she returned the sentiment.

"Why are you here? What happened? Something bad?" he inquired, backing away from her a bit but keeping his hands on her waist. Her cheeks and nose were now streaked with the black soot. He grabbed the dish towel from the counter and tried to wipe the grime away. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry."

"Leave it. I don't care," she said, taking the towel from his hand. "No, nothing bad happened." Which was only a partial untruth. "I felt like I needed to be home."

"I'm glad," he sighed, hugging her again. "I do need you."

"Are you injured anywhere?" she asked, stepping back from him and giving him a cursory once over to check for wounds. Placing her hand on his cheek, she bit her lower lip to hold back tears when he closed his eyes and pressed his face firmly into her palm.

"I'm not injured. Physically at least," he confessed, opening his eyes. "But in other ways..."

"I know," she said, making eye contact despite the evident suffering in his eyes bringing tears to her own.

"Don't cry," he whispered, cupping her jaw and stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"I won't," she promised, hoping she could keep that promise as tears welled. She knew he needed her to be strong, to draw from that strength right now when all of his gone - depleted from what happened down there.

"I'm glad you're here," he whispered, reluctantly pulling her hand away from his face.

"Me too. I love you," she whispered back, smiling at him as tears brimming at her lower eyelid threatened to fall.

"I know. I love you too."

Shinra smiled at her, sadly. He cupped her jaw with his hand, smearing more soot across her cheek with this thumb as he stroked it. Stepping forward, he pressed his lips to hers for a brief, chaste kiss. He rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. Weariness pressed down on him as if gravity had suddenly grown exponentially stronger, weakening his knees. He felt like he could drop right here and sleep a week on the kitchen floor. He did not want to have to think, to remember anything about today. Replaying events in his head would do absolutely no good but he had no illusions it would happen. His own mind would torture him recalling the events in remorse while he is awake or in his nightmares while asleep.

"I should get a shower," he murmured, raising his head to look at her.

"Okay. I'll be right here," she assured him, smiling up at him.

"Okay." He reluctantly allowed his arms to fall away from her body. Pivoting on the heel of his bare foot, he walked away quickly.

There doorway was vacant. Apparently, everyone had gone on to take their showers in order to give the two of them a moment alone.

Phoenix was sure they wanted to wash away the detritus of what happened as well. If only their traumatic memories could be washed clean so easily. Picking up the towel, she wiped at the soot until her skin felt raw and abraded. She did not want to leave any reminders for him to see.

She got busy setting the table and filling it with the comforting dishes she had prepared. She had followed Lieutenant Hinawa's recipes to the letter so everything should be delicious.

People slowly began to filter into the dining room. Captain Obi first, followed by Arthur. They both nodded in acknowledgement of her presence as she poured water into the glasses. Lieutenant Hinawa came in next wearing a hat with pink bunny ears and a t-shirt with a bunny butt on it including a white puff ball attached for the tail. She would not dare ask any questions about his weird fashion choice at this moment. The others were dressed in their usual orange jumpsuits. No one said a word so neither did she. Idle conversation would be painfully awkward.

Make, Iris, and Tamaki came in next. She gave them all of hug which they willingly accepted before taking their seat at the table.

Viktor had not yet appeared. Perhaps she should go to the lab to get him. As she was about to step out of the dining room, Viktor along with Vulcan and Lisa walked in steeped in a some technical conversation but it sounded like it was reference to the new dispatch system they were working on. They nodded to her as they passed to take their seats but did not stop their discussion.

"Now that everyone is gathered, we should begin," Obi announced when no one moved to begin serving themselves food. "Phoenix."

"Sir?" She stood up from her place on his left.

"Thank you."

"Oh," she gasped, feeling the heat of self-consciousness cover her face despite her pleasure at his simple words of appreciation. "Thank you all for coming back safely."

Obi popped off the top of his beer bottle with a flick of his thumb. He poured the refreshing beverage into the empty glass she had provided. Standing to his feet, he raised his glass, waiting for the others to stand and raise a glass of their chosen beverage.

"To our fallen fellow soldiers and friends. We will not let their sacrifice be in vain. Their lives will not go unavenged."

Phoenix would swear she could hear the glass in his hand cracking when his fingers tightened around it.

"We'll get those White Clad bastards," he growled through his teeth, bringing the glass to his lips to quickly drain it of the fizzy amber fluid.

"Kanpai!" they all heralded in unison, drinking up before sitting down.

"Do you want another one, sir?" Phoenix asked, preparing to stand when he finished off the beer straight from the bottle.

"I better not. I might just keep on drinking," he muttered, accepting the bowl of steak with peppers and onions passed to him. "So why did you come back so soon?"

"Well, " she began, clearing her throat and passing the steak in favor of the sweet and sour pork coming around next. "You've heard home is where the heart is right?"

"Yeah. What has that old cliche got to do with it?" He dumped two heaping spoonfuls of the pork onto his plate.

"My heart was no longer there so..." She paused to serve herself before handing the bowl to Shinra sitting beside her. She glanced at him, giving him a smile though he seemed not to notice because he was presently concentrating on his food. "So I came home."

"I see," he said tonelessly, digging into his food. "I thought maybe you had a fight with your family."

Dammit! Phoenix mercilessly stabbed the biggest chunk of pork on her plate. That was only the part of the reason. The arguments with her Aunt was only the impetus for cutting her stay short. She offered no explanation or excuse. Captain Obi was too tired to care about that right now anyway.

As they finished, each person left the table to go to their room. Finally, only Shinra and Phoenix were left so she stood to begin gathering the dishes.

"I'll help," he insisted, stacking the empty plates within his reach.

"No. Leave them. I'll take care of it," she said, taking hold of the stack of plates he refused to let go. "You should go get some sleep."

"How about this? We clear the table, leave everything in the kitchen for later, you come lie down with me and then we'll do dishes together. I'll even help cook dinner. What do you think?" he asked, pulling the dishes out of her hands.

"O-okay."

Once everything was stacked neatly in the kitchen, waiting to cleaned later, Shinra took Phoenix by the hand to lead her to his bedroom. He did not bother to lock the door behind them because they were both too tired for anything besides sleeping to happen.

Cuddled together, Phoenix's head tucked under his chin and his arms holding her securely, Shinra exhaled as if he had been holding his breath for hours. Maybe he had. While in the Nether, he had been holding out for a better outcome, foolishly hoping for everyone coming out alive. Then he dreaded returning home, to be alone with his thoughts, his memories, and the pain of loss that only seemed to grow stronger in this battle against the White Clads.

Where is Shō? What is he doing now? Is he okay? Shinra's mind spun out of control with questions he did not expect. Would it have been better if the White Clads had kept custody of Phoenix? At least she was with Shō which had offered a small amount of comfort for the safety of both of them. Why am I thinking this? What the hell...

Shinra slid his arms up to her shoulders, enclosing them completely and pulling her body into his with bone breaking force. At least she had been waiting for him here.

"Shinra? Are you okay?" Phoenix asked, her voice a little shaky with fearful uncertainty.

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay. Sorry," he apologized, lowering his arms back down to her waist which prevented him from squeezing her so intensely.

Phoenix pushed her face into the soft cotton of his black t-shirt. She listened to his heart which beat fast and erratically. She slipped her arm under his to reach his back, placing her hand between his shoulder blades to slowly and rhythmically begin patting to soothe the tension from his body. Humming low in her throat, she listened as his heart started to slow cadence. His breaths became deeper, his chest rolling her head slightly as it rose and fell.

"Good night, my darling," she whispered. "May your sleep be dreamless and peaceful. I love you so so much."