Hina sighed as she did her paperwork. It wasn't hard to do it, to Arthur though it was the hardest thing in the world. "Stop daydreaming Arthur." Hina said as she frowned without looking up from her work. Arthur frowned and wrote down his reports. "You seem to be really into your work Shinmon." Maki smiled. "It's the only thing to do. Like I said before, I'm not a captain anymore so I can't just go about my day as if I have nothing else to do. I'm not in charge anymore, so I'm sure Hinawa will be on my back if I don't do it anyway." Hina explained. Kazan watched Arthur slowly start to 'die' as he did his work, Shinra zoomed past his work like he was the smart kid in school doing homework. "Hey Shinmon?" Kazan asked. "No. I don't care." Hina replied. She already knew what he was going to ask, but for that matter she didn't care. Mizuki came into the room with a small smile on her face. "Hey, you three rookies. Captain Obi and Lieutenant Hinawa needs you all in his office." Mizuki said as she sat down next to Maki. Arthur, Shinra, and Kazan got up and left the room.
"Hey Oze, I have a question. How the hell do you deal with those two? I bet it's bad enough to add a third one in the mix. Kazan seems to be getting along with them fine." Hina frowned. "It's not too bad. But sometimes if you really have to, all you have to do is hit them." Maki smiled. Sister Iris walked in the room with a small paper. "I have everyone's favorite foods on the paper for you Shinmon." Iris smiled as she handed Hina the list. Hina read over it and let out a sigh. "Boyle's favorite food is court cuisine?" Hina asked. "Yes, but if you ask me I'm sure he's never tried it before." Iris giggled nervously. "Shinmon? Are you going to cook again?" Mizuki asked. "I plan to, I'll ask Obi about it though." Hina responded as she pulled out a blank sheet of paper. "You can cook?" Maki asked. "Yeah Oze. I looked at your staff list and just cringed. Why can't one of you at least clean? Hinawa is the lieutenant not the maid." Hina sighed as she started writing on the paper. "But Hinawa was always the type to prioritize other things before himself so I'm sure he said that he didn't mind the work. What an idiot." Hina frowned.
Akitaru was talking to the rookies about their undercover mission along with Takehisa and the Captain of the 5th, Princess Hibana. As Obi was talking, Takehisa let out a sneeze. "Coming down with a cold sir?" Kazan asked. "No, I'm fine." Takehisa responded. Obi looked at him and then went back to explaining.
"Hey Shinmon, why do you call everyone by their surnames?" Maki asked out of curiosity. Hina stopped writing and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm a very traditional person. I prefer to call people by their surnames. Is there something wrong with that?" Hina asked. "N-No... it just almost makes me feel like I'm a superior. But I can get used to it." Maki smiled. "Calling someone by there surname is just like calling a superior by their title and surname. It's to show respect." Hina explained. "Shinmon must've been raised in a traditional town. I see now." Sister Iris thought. Hina stood up with the paper she wrote on in her hand. "I'll be back." Hina said before leaving the room. Hina made her way to the kitchen and sighed. "Well, despite the raggedy look on the outside of the cathedral it doesn't look too bad on the inside." Hina muttered. "Cut them some slack the company was established not too long before ours was." Father Kōfuku smiled. Hina was right though. Despite its messy look cathedral 8 was very neat and clean on the inside. The walls weren't dirty and they were painted nicely. The floor seemed to be clean, the fridge was working fine, and the lights were also working fine. Hina slightly jumped. "Where the he- I mean... where the heck did you come from?" Hina asked. "I was just about to make it to the office after praying but the I seen you. I wanted to talk to you about something." Kōfuku said as he walked into the kitchen.
"What is it?" Hina asked as she walked to the fridge. "So how are you liking the eighth so far?" Kōfuku asked as Hina opened the fridge. "Are you kidding me?!" Hina exclaimed. Kōfuku sighed. "I knew you didn't like people. But I tried so hard to get you guys here." Kōfuku frowned. "What? No, I was talking about the fridge. There's nothing there but a few carrots and a cucumber." Hina said as she shook her head. "I just got here, it's my third day. But I like the people here. They're okay. It's not like I'll just drop out of here because I don't like them. But give me some time to adjust." Hina frowned as she closed the empty fridge. "It's not normal for someone to switch companies so quick. Especially after such an accident. It was all over the news." Hina sighed. She avoided Kōfuku's gaze. "I can't help but feel like I failed all of you for not getting the Infernal off the car in time and protecting Sister Hinabi. If I moved faster.... Shūfuku and Sister Hinabi would still be here." Hina said as she put a hand over her face. The only reason Hina was here was to make sure that Mizuki could overcome her social anxiety. She cared about Mizuki, Kazan, and Kōfuku so much. But if Mizuki didn't have social anxiety she couldn't live with the job of a fire soldier.
"Hey... don't think that. It only happened so fast. There was nothing you could do." Kōfuku said as he walked up to Hina. "I didn't mean to make you sad. I'm sorry." Kōfuku said. He didn't know what to do. He had never seen Hina at a state like this. She was obviously on the brink of having an emotional breakdown. "I know you think that you could've done something but there was nothing that could be done at that point. I know you didn't want to join Company 8 because you didn't want to see anything happen to anyone else but I promise. I'll make sure that nothing bad will happen again. I promise that I'll make good on my word too." Kōfuku smiled. Hina took her hand off of her face and patted Kōfuku on the head. "Thank you Father Kōfuku. I needed that." She said. "You know, you three are like my kids." Hina smiled. Kōfuku blushed and smiled. "Really? Is that how you see me?" Kōfuku asked as Hina walked past him. "Am I like the most responsible kid or the irresponsible kid?" Kōfuku asked. Hina left the room without a word.
Hina walked up to Captain Akitaru Obi's office. She knocked on the door and she soon heard a 'come in.' Hina opened the door and frowned. "Hi Hina." Akitaru greeted. Hina looked at him and frowned. "Call her by her surname she raises a stink." Takehisa said as he wrote on the paper he was working on, on his clipboard. Hina looked at Takehisa and glared. "What are you doing here?" A voice asked from the corner of the room. Hina turned around and arched a brow. Captain of Company 5, Princess Hibana was looking straight at Hina. "Do yo want anything?" Hina asked. "I asked a question, I think someone like me should have it answered." Akitaru sweat dropped, how was this interaction going to go? "I work here. Why are you concerned about it?" Hina asked. "You were the captain of Company 9, I just needed to know why you were here." Princess Hibana answered. Hina turned around and walked up to Akitaru's desk. "Sorry Hina. But if you didn't know, the eighth and the fifth are buddies now." Akitaru explained. "I don't care. What I care about now is the fridge. There's nothing there. I don't know what your diet is but I don't think I would like to eat air if I were you." Hina said. "It's empty? I didn't notice." Akitaru said as he leaned back in his chair.
"I wanted to ask you if I could cook tonight. As a thank you for recruiting me." Hina said. Akitaru looked up at Hina. He just stared at her. Her silky black hair that stopped at her shoulders, her mismatched eyes with that vast dark red color. That same eyes that he used to look at years ago. And that stoic expression that slowly changed to a cute frown, it was cute in his opinion. "What are you looking at?" Hina asked. "You haven't changed one bit, have you?" Akitaru laughed. Hina sighed and looked away. "It seems that you've changed a lot." Hina muttered. "Hinawa, this may be an odd request but go to the store with Shinmon and buy some groceries." Akitaru grinned. Takehisa sighed as he stood up and fixed his glasses. "I can pay." Takehisa said. Hina hummed in disagreement. "If the company needs food don't you think the captain should be paying for it?" Hina asked. "What?" Takehisa asked in confusion. "I just don't think if any food isn't in the fridge and any of the fire soldiers don't end up getting any food at the end of the day. It's the same as saying that the captain doesn't care about his soldiers. Don't you think Princess Hibana?" Hina asked as she turned around to princess Hibana. Hibana looked at her and smirked. "Of course. I would never have my soldiers starving to death. I make sure they all have decent meals that gravel such as them can enjoy." Hibana said. Akitaru looked at the two of them with a shocked expression. "Obi, are you saying that you don't care about your soldiers?" Hina slyly asked. Takehisa knew what the two were doing and didn't even want to step in. "I do care about my soldiers!" Akitaru frowned. "Well, I didn't see any food in the fridge." Hina pouted as she crossed her arms.
Takehisa sighed as he walked down the sidewalk with Hina. Hina snickered as she held on to the black wallet in her hands. "You know I just thought he would give me some money. I didn't think he would give me his whole wallet." Hina laughed as she put the wallet in her pocket. Right now she was wearing her haori over her orange jumpsuit that was slightly opened. "You are such a sweet talker." Takehisa sighed. "so what do you plan to make? I'm curious because for once I don't have to cook for the team." Takehisa asked. "My treat, since you're always cooking I'll make sushi and onigiri along with some tempura and rice." Hina responded. "You're really making sushi?" Takehisa asked. "Do you think I can't make it or something?" Hina asked with a small frown on her face. "No it's just.... thank you." Takehisa muttered as he cracked a small smile. Hina looked at him and sighed. The two walked into a grocery store and got all the food needed to make sushi for tonight and food for future nights. "You know, I was a little surprised when you saluted to Captain Obi. At first you seemed like you didn't would even want to tolerate him. I thought you were going to get a little cocky because you used to be a captain." Takehisa said. "Being a captain was something new for me but there was no doubt that I couldn't handle it. I've accepted the fact that I won't be a captain anymore. That's all it took for me. I'll respect you and Obi as a lower ranked soldier because I know you both are people who know what their doing." Hina explained.
Takehisa looked at Hina, she was walking slightly in front of him. He was a little surprised. She was actually more mature then he thought. The two carried the many groceries to the kitchen and stocked the fridge up. After that the two just went on with their day. Hina let out a small sigh as she sat down at her desk. She looked at Kazan who for some reason looked sad. Mizuki walked in and smiled softly. "Captain Obi needs Maki and Shinmon." Mizuki said as she sat down in her chair. "What does he want now? I just sat down." Hina frowned as she got up. Maki sighed as she stood up and walked out of the office. "Do your work Kazan." Hina said before walking out. Maki and Hina walked into Akitaru's office and stood in front of his desk. "Okay first off, can I have my wallet back?" Akitaru asked with a frown. Hina chuckled as she pulled his wallet out of her pocket. "Here. Thanks to you we'll be eating good tonight." Hina said as she handed him his wallet. Akitaru took his wallet back and held up a clipboard. "Tomorrow I'm sending Arthur, Shinra, and Kazan to Company 1 undercover. We're using the Rookie Training Reassignment to not raise any suspicion. You two won't have any big part in this but you two will be getting the rookies there. I wanna make it look formal." Akitaru explained. "We're investigating the first. Could you please tell me why, remember I'm a little late to the party." Hina asked. "The eighth's mission is to stop human combustion. It seems that someone is turning people Infernal and that person may be in working in the Fire Force. Right now, our biggest lead is the first. A lot of people are seen turning Infernal in the their jurisdiction. So it might be someone in the first or around that area." Akitaru explained.
"I see now." Hina nodded. "I would just send one of you, but even though you're both first class fire soldiers there's a huge difference in experience. This'll be a good lesson for Maki. Plus, I feel that our three rookies can be a handful and Shinmon can keep them in line." Akitaru explained. "In addition to that, I heard you've met Captain Burns. Is that right Hina?" Akitaru asked. Hina's head perked up a bit. "Yes, me and Hinotsubasa had to go there for business purposes." Hina explained with a frowned. "I see, so I know you can butter him up at least a little bit. " Akitaru smirked. "You two are dismissed now." Akitaru said. Maki and Hina walked out of his office. "Looks like I'll be showing you how to deal with three idiots at the same time. This'll be fun." Hina chuckled. Maki smiled. "I'm glad I don't have to deal with them by myself." Maki sighed. Hina nodded before walking back to the office.
After working on stacks of paperwork the sun had gotten low and the sky turned yellow and red. Kazan let out a sad sigh. Hina leaned back in her chair and looked at him. "What do you have that sad look on your face for?" Hina asked, she was slightly annoyed because she did half of Arthur's paperwork and the other half just sat next to Arthur. "We have to go on a secret mission to the first and I won't get to see you." Kazan frowned. "You idiot, I'm taking you there." Hina frowned. "Really?!" Kazan's face lit up. Hina shook her head. "I'm gonna make dinner. By the time diner is ready that stack of paperwork should be done Arthur. Or else you aren't eating." Hina said before walking out. Takehisa looked up from his laptop and watched as the door closed. "Mizuki, Kazan, go get Father Kōfuku. I want the three of you to help Shinmon make dinner." Takehisa said as he continued to do his work on his laptop. Mizuki nodded before standing up with Kazan. The two left the room to go find Kōfuku.
Hina took off her haori and put it on a chair in the dinning room. She walked in the kitchen and pulled her sleeves up. Then she washed her hands before getting some things out of the fridge. She found a headband that said 料理長 and an apron that said kiss the cook. Hina let out a small sigh as she put the two items on. "Hey chef? Can we help you cook?" Kōfuku asked as he peeked his head in the door. Hina looked at him and sighed. "Go ahead." She muttered. The four of them easily cooked the food quicker. "I haven't cooked with you in a while." Mizuki said as she carefully wrapped the circular rice in seaweed. "Yeah. I wish we had something to make meat buns." Hina sighed. "Sister Hinabi used to make the best ones!" Kōfuku chuckled. Kazan nodded his head in agreement. Mizuki stopped wrapping up the sushi. A single tear ran down her face and hit the floor. Hina looked at Mizuki and sighed. She walked around her and picked up a towel. "Stop crying, you'll get your nasty tears in the food." Hina frowned. If some type of food was made incorrectly she would never want that food to be served and would never even think to eat it. Hina placed a hand on Mizuki's cheek and started whipping her tears. "Sorry." Mizuki smiled. Hina wiped the rest of Mizuki's tears and put the towel on the counter. Mizuki sucked in a small breath before cutting the sushi.
Kōfuku walked into the office and smiled seeing that everyone including Akitaru and Sister Iris were there. "Miss Shimon is done cooking. You all should come to the table now." Kōfuku said. Kōfuku's smile dropped when he seen Arthur look like he was going to die any second now. "Arthur get up, Shinmon is done with the food." Shinra smiled. Arthur jolted up on his feet with a sly smirk, he had finally regained his life now that he heard that the food was done. Everyone exited the office and went to the dinning room. Kazan winced as the heat from the bottom of the tempura plate hit his fingers. "Be careful with that plate Kazan, the tempura is hot!" Hina exclaimed before Kazan walked out the kitchen. "Yeah I got that!" Kazan yelled back. "She should've gave me a warning beforehand." Kazan muttered as he place two plates of tempura on the table. "That looks good!" Maki smiled. "Well our head chef did cook it." Kazan smirked. "Where do you all want this sushi?" Kōfuku asked as he came out with a plate of sushi and a bowl of rice. His smile lit up the whole room. "Anywhere you want it to be." Maki and Iris gushed. "I'll just put it right here." Kōfuku smiled as he put the sushi in front of Sister Iris and the bowl of rice in font of Maki. "Hey, where do you all want this?" Mizuki asked. She held multiple plates in her arms and on her forearms and a single plate balanced on her head. "Do you think that's funny? I swear if you drop one of my dishes I'll drop you." Hina glared. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to get plates out faster." Mizuki whimpered. Hina took the plate from her head and placed it next to Akitaru. As Mizuki handed out the rest of the plates Akitaru couldn't help but look at Hina's outfit. "What are you looking at?" Hina asked as she took off the headband.
"Kiss the cook, huh?" Akitaru smirked. "Don't do anything you'll regret Obi." Hina glared as she took of the apron. "I'm different now." Akitaru chuckled. "I hope so. God you were so annoying." Hina sighed as a small pink tint painted her cheeks. "What?" Kazan asked in confusion. "We used to be in the Fire Academy together." Akitaru said. "He constantly asked me on dates and every time I shot him down. He didn't seem to give up until we graduated." Hina said as she put the apron up. "Really?" Takehisa asked in a surprised tone. Maki and Iris tilted their heads. "The reason I never stopped was because you were the prettiest girl there. I couldn't let you go so easily." Akitaru smiled. "Stop it with that pretty girl crap." Hina frowned. "You know you're still pretty... no more like beautiful!" Akitaru said. Hina glared but for some reason it wasn't as scary as it normally was. "Just wait for it." Akitaru whispered as the room went silent. "Stop buttering me up with all of these compliments you idiot. I'm so sick of you, I wanna switch companies already!" Hina yelled as her face grew redder and redder. "There it is! I see you still have that cute blush!" Akitaru laughed. Everyone was absolutely shocked as they watched Hina's face turn red. No one but Akitaru had ever seen Hina like that. Hina was now in the process of regaining her composure. "How cute. Why don't we all start eating." Kōfuku laughed. Hina frowned as she sat next to Mizuki. "I didn't know you knew the captain like that?" Mizuki giggled. "Shut your trap." Hina sighed. "Thank you for the food!" Everyone clapped their hands together before eating. The food seemed to be as good as Takehisa's cooking.
Shinra and Arthur was seeing who could eat their rice faster. Kazan was sitting next to them and watched them gulp the rice down without chewing. Kazan started gulping down his rice along with him. Shinra and Arthur stopped 'eating' and looked at Kazan. Kazan grinned as he kept eating his rice, it was a competition between the three, on who could eat faster. "Hey! I made that out of appreciation. And if you eat that fast you'll get the hiccups." Hina frowned. Takehisa sighed before picking up some sushi with his chopsticks. The night was more lively than it was at Company 9. That's what Hina loved about Company 8 so far.
It was night time and time to get some sleep. There was few people up at this hour, including Hina. Hina walked down some stairs and found herself in the shooting range. Hina walked in and looked at the wall of guns, axes, shields, and other equipment. "Hinawa I know you're here. You can stop watching me like a creep." Hina said as she turned around. Takehisa held a cup of coffee in his hands, he looked tired but despite that, he had things to do. "What are you still doing up?" Takehisa asked as he walked towards her. "I'd like to ask you the same question." Hina responded. "I'm the lieutenant, the cook, the cleaner, and the engineer, I have to be up. So answer my question." Takehisa sighed. "I was looking for you. I wanted to help you out with a few things." Hina replied. "Like you said, Obi's got you working like a servant. All you need is the butler outfit." Hina chuckled as she leaned on the wall. "Don't say that." Takehisa frowned. "Oh I'm sorry, would you like to wear the dress instead?" Hina asked with a small smirk. Takehisa was just about done with her at this point. "Just finish your explanation." Takehisa glared. "Okay okay anyway, I figured you'd be down here doing gun maintenance. So I want to help you with that." Hina explained. Takehisa hummed, he was slightly annoyed but he needed the help, he was really tired these past few days. It was nice that she even made dinner to help out.
Takehisa had to admit that she was a lot more mature from the last time he seen her. She used to be full of fire in the military. When she came here he was surprise that it didn't seem like she was going to act as if she was in control of the company. He was going to ask why she was being so nice but she really just seen that he needed the help. "Go ahead." Takehisa sighed. What an interesting pair.
(A/N)
Hey y'all. I hope you like this chapter. There isn't much to say about it but I realize that I haven't made an Author's Note since the Prologue. And I don't want a story with zero Author's Notes. So bye.