Hina let out another sigh of disappointment as she watched everyone get ready for their sparing matches. "Is your friend alright? He seems to be a little aggravated." Lieutenant Huo Yan Li asked. Hina looked down at Shinra's aggravated expression. "I think he's just so delighted to be at the First that he can't contain himself." Maki said with a fake smile. Hina grabbed Shinra by the hair and shook him a little. "Yeah he's always like this." Hina said as she let him go. That was his little warning to calm down. "Then he's a high-spirited crewmen! Sweet, I'm getting all fired up!" Lieutenant Rekka smiled. "He's way too excited." Hina muttered. Hina and Maki stepped aside as they picked out which recruit should go first.
"What's wrong with that guy. Why is he so... jumpy?" Kazan asked Shinra. Shinra shrugged it off. "Mizuki is the same way." Shinra said. "Hey, I'm Lieutenant Hoshimiya. Seems the two of us'll be sparing." Lieuteant Rekka introduced. "I'm Second Class Fire Soldier Takeru Noto. My family owns a jahgaimo farm, so I started getting called Jaga Noto." Takeru introduced himself. "And then that turned into 'Juggernaut.'" "I'm looking forward to a heated match, okay?" Rekka asked as his fist burst into flames. "No. No fire please!" Takeru shuttered. Flames came from Takeru's palms and burst from around him. Takeru started to panic as he seen the flames. Lieutenant Rekka smiled and gave a thumbs up as he saw the flames. "That's what I like to see buddy! Those flames symbolize your burning passion!" Rekka exclaimed. His expression is filled with joy and happiness. "That's not what this is! I just get really scared! It's too hot!" Takeru panicked. "You and I like it hot Juggernaut. Keep on pushin', let me see the best flames you got!" Rekka exclaimed.
"That enthusiasm's always set to broil." Leonard said as he sighed. "Yeah. I'm a little worried." Li agreed. "I'll deal with any stray shots." Karim said with a small frown. "See that you do." Li nodded. "Good grief. This nuisance really is an annoying thorn in my side." Karim muttered as he stepped forward. "I'm shimmering! Oh man, the Special Fire Force has been waiting for talent like yours, ya know?" Rekka said with a smile. "Don't talk like that. You're gonna get me stirred up! I'm scared of fire, I joined the Special Fire Force because I wanted to get my flames put out! But you guys just keep fanning them!" Takeharu yelled as he aimed and shot off all of his fiery missiles at Lieutenant Rekka. "The heat you're putting out is incredible! Every last shot has the force of a juggernaut!" Rekka exclaimed as he dodged every single missile. Lieutenant Karim's jaw dropped as he seen all the misiles come towards him. "You dodged 'em all ya lazy slacker sloth!"Karim yelled with a glare. "It's all good 'cause I've got you backing me up, Karim." Rekka said as Karim got ready. "What's that thing?" Kazan asked as he noticed Karim pulled out a certain instrument and a bell.
Karim rung the bell once and the sound of a gong went off. The missiles disappeared and turned into white smoke. The sound of converting energy was vaguely heard. "What the heck?" Arthur questioned. "He stopped them." Shinra commented. "But that much energy can't have just been erased." Maki said. "So where did it go?" Kazan asked in awe. Karim rang his bell once more. Another loud sound was heard and pure ice came out of Karim's instrument. "So he froze all that flame?" Maki asked as a sharp and thick icicle came out of the instrument. "Damn it Rekka!" Karim yelled as the icicle almost hit Rekka. "That might've burned the Captain's uniform if I hadn't been here!" Karim yelled. "But you were here! And I totally believed in you!" Rekka smiled. "I'm confused! How did he turn that fire into ice? How does that work?" Kazan asked. "Why don't you all go ahead and ask the man yourself?" Hina suggested. Maki, Shinra, Arthur, and Kazan walked up to Lieutenant Karim in confusion. "Does the first really have a Fire Soldier who conjures frost instead of flame?" Arthur asked. Karim hummed in confusion about the question. "I'm just a regular second-generation. You really think I have some kind of frost powers?" Karim asked. "Then where'd all that ice come from?" Maki asked. "It's called Thermo-Acoustic Cooling. It's a technique that allows me to convert the heat energy of flame into sound by compressing it in a specific way. As that sound abrades the cool air, it's converted into cold." Karim explained. "So you can take a fire's heat and convert it into sound to freeze it over?" Shinra asked. "I didn't even realize that was possible." Maki gasped. Arthur was still lost on the subject.
"Lieutenant Flam's power is a work of art. It really is something else, I'm a bit jealous." Hina said to herself with a small smirk. "It truly is a shame that he might be one of the people turning humans into Infernals." Hina thought. "That's so cool! You're almost as cool as Miss Shinmon! Your powers are amazing!" Kazan exclaimed with a grin. "It's not much to talk about... but okay." Karim muttered. "I still don't get it." Arthur said. "So basically he takes fire into that big thing there and it turns cold that's why ice came out. Do you get it now?" Kazan explained as Arthur slowly nodded his head. Rookie Tamaki Kotatsu jumped into Lieutenant Rekka's arms. "Let's move on to the next one." Leonard said. "Sorry. I only fight when I see an essential purpose. You'll have to excuse me." Lieutenant Li said. "Yeah so uh, I can only do the stuff on my paperwork. Which means you should know what I can do without me fighting. Is that okay?" Recruit Tōru Kishiri asked. "That leaves Company Eight." Leonard said. Shinra, Arthur and Kazan stepped up. "You three fight as a team. I'll take on all three of you." Captain Leonard said as he walked forward. "Three on one? I could barely handle Kazan's flame. It's strong." Maki said. "Why would the captain waste his time on them?" Tamaki asked. Hina's eye twitched at Tamaki's comment. "Why is her voice so high pitched?" Hina asked herself.
Hina let out a sigh as she crossed her arms. She had been waiting for this fight. Flames started coming from Shinra's feet. He wasn't off the ground yet but he was ready to fight. There was a strong tension. Fire came out of Leonard's eye causing his eye patch to set ablaze. "Bring it on." Leonard simply said. Kazan would normally be excited to go into battle but something about to the tension told him to wait for the right moment. Shinra nervously grinned. Arthur held his sword out causing Shinra and Kazan to step back. "Chivaly dictates that we take turns, and since I'm gonna beat him you two won't get one." Arthur said cockily. Kazan arched a brow. "Have at thee!" Arthur yelled before running towards the captain. Leonard held his arm up and slowly moved it in a motion ready to block Arthur's attack. Arthur stopped as he noticed the odd arm movement that Leonard did. The three of them then realized that Leonard wasn't a force to be reckoned with. They didn't know his powers but they were worried none the less. "Fight me with all you have. If you don't, this match will be completely devoid of any meaning." Leonard said sternly. "Fine but don't blame me if you lose an arm." Arthur said. "You would need to wield a hotter flame than that one to cut me. Set your mind at ease." Leonard replied. "'A hotter flame than that?' What's hotter than Arthur's Excalibur? He can even use that blade to cute through steel." Maki questioned.
"A hotter blade, huh? I see now." Kazan muttered. "At least I warned you!" Arthur said as he ran towards Leonard. He tried to cut through Leonard's arm with all the heat he had. But the blade didn't even leave a burn mark. Maki gasped as she seen the blade stop as soon as it hit Leonard's hand. "Your sword kills with one strike but what if it should fail you?" Leonard asked as he put his fingers on the blade causing Arthur's Excalibur to back fire on him. He flew back. As soon as he hit the ground he looked at the handle of his sword in shock. "No way. Not even the ogress could extinguish Excalibur." Arthur said in shock. Shinra took off. "What are you two waiting for? Don't ease up on him now!" Shinra yelled as he flew into the air and kicked Leonard's arm. Kazan ran to the side, he was now in front of Hina and Maki. Leonard looked at Kazan as flame ejected from behind him. Kazan widened his stance and glared. "What do you think that one is doing?" Li asked. "He seems so into battle now. He was just yelling about how cool I am. And he's not really working with his teammates. In fact he's away from his comrades." Karim said. "On his papers it said he could breath fire. Is his flame that strong?" Li asked. "How cool! He doesn't want to hurt his comrades. How noble of him!" Rekka exclaimed with a smile.
"This is difficult for Kazan. They aren't taking the right turns. So Kazan has to wait for Shinra to get down so that he doesn't end up hurting him." Hina thought. Kazan was intensely focused on Captain Burns' movements. Shinra made more fire go to his feet so he could get back. "That crewman packs some impressive fire power too." Rekka commented. Shinra landed onto the ground and ran towards Leonard again. Despite Shinra's multiple kicks Leonard blocked them all with one arm. Shinra's attacks made the sparing area quake. Shinra was about to use his hottest attack. "Step back or you'll be killed!' Shinra yelled as his foot heated up, his foot heated up so much that it almost turned red. Shinra then kicked Leonard so fast that he wasn't able to block his scorching hot attack. Yet the only damage Shinra managed to do was burn a piece of his shirt. "Unreal." Shinra muttered to himself. "A question for you: Why join the Fire Force?" Leonard asked. "I lost both my mom and brother in a fire. I joined the force to solve the mystery of human combustion and make fires like that a thing of the past. To become a hero who can save the world from the terror of the flames!" Shinra replied intensely. "You still have a long way to go." Leonard simply said. Leonard took one step causing Shinra to fly back. Shinra tumbled and landed next to Arthur. Kazan's eyes widened as air flew past him. Some of his hair came out of his bun. Leonard turned in his direction. "It looks like he's absorbing the energy of the flames. I wish I knew how his power works." Kazan thought as he smirked. "I'm gonna be completely honest with you sir. My lungs feel like they're freezing but really they've been heating up all the air I've taken in ever since Arthur has taken his first hit. My lungs are at at it's limit. And they've heated up all the air that's in me!" Kazan exclaimed. Kazan then blew as hard as he could. No one was ready for the amount of heat Kazan produced. Flames started to shoot out of Kazan's mouth. Kazan's flames had the power of a flamethrower and more. Leonard's eyes widened as the strength of the flames hit him. His jacket flew off of his shoulders and the front of his shirt burned.
"Captain Burns!" Tamaki gasped in shock and worry. "That's a lot flame power!" Lieutenant Li gasped in shock. "He heats the oxygen he takes in his lungs and blows it out like a flamethrower. It's almost too amazing to take it all in!" Lieutenant Rekka yelled over the sound of the unruly flames. Kazan stopped breathing out fire and grinned. "I doubt that I'll win but it's always that slim chance." Kazan said. He then took another large breath and heated the oxygen up. It came out as another unruly flame. Leonard took the next hit as Hina took her heels off and stepped in front of Maki. "Step back Oze." Hina said with a small glare. Maki stepped to the side so that she wouldn't be behind Hina. Leonard cracked a small smile. "So this is Kazan Nagamochi? It's a shame that I haven't gotten the pleasure of meeting him yet." Leonard thought as he took one strong step. That step caused Kazan's flames to stop and cause him to go flying back. Hina caught him just in time. Hina then crouched down so that Kazan could sit down. "Hey, you okay?" Hina asked calmly. "Yeah. I tried." Kazan coughed. "You've got you're own smoke in your lungs." Hina said as she rolled her eyes. Kazan blew out smoke as Hina let him go. "Let me bid each of you a welcome to Company One. You'll be here but for a short time. I suggest you work hard an make the most of it." Leonard welcomed once again as he crossed his arms. "Are you hurt Captain? That was amazing!" Tamaki exclaimed as she tried to run towards her captain. But she 'misplaced' her foot and fell forward. It was more of a jump but she didn't mean it. She started falling towards Leonard. Leonard just turned around and walked away, as he didn't want to be caught up in Tamaki's Lucky Lecher Lure. Thankfully Lieutenant Rekka was the only one who was fast enough not to get caught up in the lure. "Gotcha! Your Lucky Lecher Lure is no match for my reflexes. We're good." Rekka said with a smile as he caught Tamaki perfectly. "Thank you Lieutenant Rekka. I'm so sorry! You always have to help me!" Tamaki whined.
Kazan walked over to Shinra and Arthur and helped them both up. Lieutenant Karim Flam walked up to them. "You Company Eight guys'll train under me. You three never had a chance against Captain Burns. But you still did alright, in a fairly decent way." Karim said. "Well of course we did." Arthur replied slyly. Kazan hit Arthur upside the head and nervously laughed "Thank you for saying so sir." Shinra said. "Yeah, thanks." Kazan said. "But whether your pace keeps you apace of our pace, or whether your pace gets outpaced by our pace, just try to hang in there, okay?" Karim asked. Shinra and Kazan both looked at each other and nodded. "Thank you very much, sir!" Shinra and Kazan said, filled with thankfulness and passion. Arthur was lost on what Karim said. "He just said if we can take the training or not just try to take it!" Kazan explained, he was a little frustrated. "Damn this guy is dumb!" Kazan thought.
Hina looked at Leonard as he picked up his uniform jacket and walked past her. Hina gave him a strong glare as she put her heels back on. "Is something wrong Miss Shinmon?" Maki asked. "I wanna fight him. The temptation of fighting him right now is pissing me off." Hina replied. Leonard turned around and faced Hina. "It's a shame, I 'd look forward to sparing with you." Leonard said. "You're really lucky I don't have my regular Fire Force uniform on." Hina said as she casually put two fingers on her left hand on her right palm. "Shinmon, meet me in my office." Leonard said before walking off. Hina rolled her eyes as she watched him walk away. "What do you think he wants?" Maki asked. "Beats me. I just told him I wanted to spar with him and he wants me to come to his office. That's odd." Hina said. Her expression told Maki that she was actually suspicious. "Why would Captain Burns want to see her in his office?" Tamaki asked with a pout. Hina walked over to Tamaki and stared at her. "Is there something wrong with that?" Hina asked as she gave Tamaki her infamous stare causing Tamaki to start whimpering. "Hey Miss Shinmon, how about we not scare the other company's rookies. We're not even staying for long." Maki said as she grabbed Hina by the arm. "You're so cool! I'm so glad you're gonna see over our training!" Kazan said with a grin. Karim's eye twitched. "This kid is like Rekka but he doesn't seem to like into rushing in the field." Karim thought to himself. "Well I gotta go to Captain Burns' office, while I'm there go ahead and call Lieutenant Hinawa and tell him to pick us up." Hina said as she walk out of the sparing ground. Maki nodded as she turned to the group. Hina waved to Kazan before walking off. Despite this being an under cover mission Hina was glad Kazan was enjoying himself for the time being. "Hey guys, after Miss Shinmon is done with her meeting with Captain Burns we're gonna leave. It was nice meeting you, sirs." Maki said as she tented her hands. "It was nice meeting you too Maki." Li said with a smile. "Bye Maki." Shinra and Arthur said as they waved. "Farewell ogress. Until we meet next time. "What did he just say?" Li thought to himself. A vein was visible on Maki's head. It took everything in her not to kill Arthur where he stood. "Goodbye you three. I'll see you in literally a couple minutes." Maki said through gritted teeth before leaving to make a call.
Hina walked through the halls of the Grand Cathedral. This hadn't been her first time here but she didn't know it like the back of her hand. A certain someone passed her. "Hey black sheep, I know you just seen me." Hina said as she turned around. "Why give me such a cruel name. I mean no harm yet all of the nuns give me a bad look." The person said as they turned around. "I had almost forgotten that you still worked with Company One, Akari Akuma." Hina smirked. Akari Akuma, she's a First Class Fire Soldier. Despite her working at such a religious company her appearance may scare you. Her skin is a fair tone, she has a button nose, her eyebrows are full and thick, and her lips are are full. She wears nice black shoes, black dress pants with a white button up shirt. Over that is a black button up vest with beautiful gold tracings on the sides off it, and a black blazer. Her black hair is a little wavy and is put into a high bun with some loose strands falling down. The only problem was that Akari has cute little black horns peeking out of her hair along with a black devil's tail. Over her eyes is a black blindfold. No one but Hina happen to know what her face looks like."The only reason I still work here is because of Leonard. So I guess I am a black sheep." Akari said as she closed her pocket watch. "It's been a long while Shinmon Hina." Akari greeted with a small smirk. "Goodness you look so professional. I don't think I've seen you in such a state." Akari said as she pulled away from the hug. "And as always you're looking as sharp as ever." Hina said with a smirk. Akari looked at the tag on Hina's left arm to show what company she represents. "I didn't know you'd work with another company so quickly. Hina sighed as she looked at her tag. She then looked at Akari. "So you must be here for the Rookie Assignment Training Program. You must've brought your recruits here. A shame I didn't get to meet them yet. But if you brought them here, I think you should get going just about now." Akari said with a small smile. "Why the rush. Does Company One have anything to hide from me?" Hina asked as her expression got more serious.
They both got silent and intensely stared at each other, all that could be heard was Akari's pocket watch tic. Akari laughed a little. "It's almost hard to tell when you joke sometimes." Akari said as Hina smirked. "I'm glad that you could see that I was joking. But back to business, Captain Burns told me to meet him in his office. I kind of got lost on my way, any chance you can help me find it?" Hina asked. "Well of course. Come follow me." Akari said as she turned around. Akari showed Hina the way through all of the blessed hallways of the Grand Cathedral. "This is it. This is his office. I guess I'll see you later." Akari said with a wave. She then walked away without a word. "Akuma has a lot of fame in the first. As well as she knows Captain Burns, she should be a lieutenant. But she tells me that she declines the offer every time because no one would a approve of someone who looks like her to be of such a rank. I just think she should take the job, ignore everyone, and call it a day. That woman is too damn respectful to take a promotion. It's almost sad." Hina thought. Hina had met Akari throughout her years of being in the Special Fire Force. "I should give that old lady a call when I get back to Company Eight." Hina muttered. Despite Akari's young look she was older than she looked. She looked to be around her late 20's to early 30's. Hina faced Leonard's office door and sighed. "You're a really big guy, you know? I can feel you standing behind me Burns." Hina said. "You have a knack for sensing people. I hope you know that." Leonard said. "It wasn't hard like you. Your body heat is irradiating off of you." Hina said as Leonard opened the office door for her. Hina stepped in and let out a sigh of relief. Leonard locked the door behind him and looked at Hina. "So, what is it?" He asked. Hina unbuttoned her blazer. Hina has lied to Obi about one thing so far at her time in Company Eight for specific reasons.
Last Night
It was really late at night. Hina had stayed up with Takehisa doing gun maintenance. She yawned as she put her hand on the doorknob of her dorm room. "Miss Shinmon!" Hina jumped as she heard Father Kōfuku's voice. "Why can I never sense you?" Hina asked as he almost bumped her head into the door. She turned around to see Father Kōfuku standing behind her with an envelope. "What is it Father?" Hina asked as she took her ponytail holder out of her hair. "Sorry that I scared you. Remember we went to the First for my birthday last year?" Kōfuku asked in a hushed tone. "Of course I do. Wait, is this about Burns?" Hina asked in a hushed tone. "Yes, I know you're taking the rookies to Company One for their training but while you're there... well I was wondering if you would give this to him." Kōfuku whispered as he had an embarrassed blush on his cheeks as he showed Hina the envelope. Hina took the envelope and smirked. "It's stamped with a gold wax seal with koi fish on it. How cute, you must really want it to get to him." Hina quietly laughed. "How fancy. I don't think I'm quiet worthy of delivering such a letter." Hina laughed. "It's not funny. I'll have you know that I like sealing envelopes with wax seals! I like it." Kōfuku said as he crossed his arms. "Alrght alright, I promise your letter will be in the hands of Captain Leonard Burns by the end of tomorrow at least." Hina said as she ruffled Kōfuku's hair. "Thanks Miss Shinmon, good night." Kōfuku smiled. Hina turned around and opened her dorm room door.
Now
Hina never went to the First's Jurisdiction with Mizuki. But she went with Father Kōfuku for his birthday. It was a very special day for him, as it was his first time at the Grand Cathedral. "I've got a letter for you Uncle Leo." Hina joked as she took out the letter from her pocket. "It's from Father Kōfuku Honō." Hina said as he handed him a letter. "Pleased don't call me that." Leonard said as he took the letter and walked to his desk. He opened the envelope and took out the letter, he started to read it. Hina watched Leonard read the letter.
Dear Uncle Leo,
Of course I'm sure Miss Shinmon told you that the letter is from me. I'm grateful that she delivered this letter to you. I wish we could spend more time together. But I know you're always busy with being the Captain of Company One. To this day I'm still proud of you for doing so much for this empire. I wish I could do more. I wish I could do as much as you do for the Tokyo Empire. I'm grateful for all the things you've done for me. Especially that one time you took me to a bar for the first time. I took so many sips of sake that you had to take me back home. I just needed to tell you that me and the remaining members of Company Nine have joined Company Eight. I really like it here. Everyone here is so nice and they have their own little quirks. I'm starting to love it here. I would love to come to your company. Before I applied to Company Eight I thought about applying to Company One. But my biggest desire task was to make everyone a Fire Soldier again. But I thought Company One was too much for Mizuki and I don't think Miss Shinmon wouldn't like to work at such a religious company. I'm sure Kazan would work anywhere with me. I hope you like him when you meet him. He's a very energetic guy. I've known the guy for a while and he's made me happy about a lot of things in my life. I'm happy with my life thanks to all of these new people in my life. Thank you for teaching me and raising me and for saving me. I hope I get to see you soon Uncle.
Love your nephew, Kōfuku Honō
Leonard smiled as he finished reading the letter. "I don't know what the letter says but from what I can see its made you happy. I'm glad. When you're ready, you should take me to the entrance." Hina said. "Could you wait outside of my office." Leonard said. Hina nodded before unlocking the door and leaving. Leonard looked over Kōfuku's hand writing and chuckled. It was neat and readable cursive. Leonard took out a plain piece of paper and got out a pen. Soon Leonard came out the office with an envelop sealed with a gold wax seal with sakura flowers on it. "Do wax seals run in the family, or what?" Hina asked as she put the envelope in the secret pocket. "I should be taking my leave now." Hina said. Leonard took her down to the entrance where Maki was waiting. "Lieutenant Hinawa is with the Matchbox outside." Maki said. "Well, it was a pleasure taking our rookies here for training." Hina said as she tented her hands. "It reallly was an honer to have us at the Grand Cathedral Captain Burns." Maki said as she tented her hands. "Thank you for taking your rookies here. I can see the bright future of those three rookies of yours." Leonard said. "We'll be taking our leave now Captain. Latom." Hina said before walking off with Maki. "Latom." Leonard said before getting back to work. A soon as Hina and Maki got a few feet away from the entrance Hina let out the loudest sigh ever.
"As soon as I get into the Matchbox I'm taking these shoes off!" Hina groaned as maki laughed. Hina looked down at her heels then at Maki's formal shoes. "I should've got those type of shoes. Hey Oze, what's your shoe size?" Hina asked asked as she pointed to Maki's feet. "A big ten. My feet are big, right?" Maki asked, ashamed of her size. "Oze, I wear the same size. You should stop worrying about what others think about you. I swear if anyone talks bad about your body I'll hit them where it hurts." Hina said with a frown. Maki grabbed Hina's arm and smiled, thank you Miss Shinmon!" Maki laughed. "Would you two hurry up?" Takehisa said from inside of the car. He had pulled up to the curb a while ago and was a little annoyed about an arguement Princess Hibana and him had before he left. "Okay, calm down." Hina sighed as she rolled her eyes.