Akari was able to dodge all of Haron's attacks. She still had that awfully intimidating and sadistic smirk on her face with every attack that was dodged. "This is boring. I never thought fighting people in this line of work would be so boring, or is it the person I'm fighting?" Akari asked as she moved out the way from a powerful punch. She wasn't even breaking a sweat. "Your moves are so predictable. Could you spice things up a little?" Akari asked as she flawlessly moved around. "She really has the nerve to mock him?" The woman thought. "It seems that he's got nothing else good to do so I guess I better end this quickly." Akari thought as she held her sword up. The blade wasn't meant to be as long as a katana, it was more like the size of a forearm. "I'll need three blades at most." Akari mumbled to herself before placing the handle in her mouth. Akari took two more handles out of the scabbard. One handle in each hand, a blue flame started to emit from the handles. Akari raised her left leg and held her arms up. The odd pose made her look like a ninja. The blades of her handles were pointed outward and the blade in her mouth was facing to the left. "What pose is that?" Haron asked. Akari lunged forward towards him and swung her blades at him but Haron swung at her at the same time. It was almost like a joust. "I wish I could tell him but I have a handle in my mouth. He's going to need a blade of fire if he wants to go against me. But then again there is no blade hotter than mine." Akari thought as she made her flames hotter.
Akari's blade started to cut through the steel of Haron's knife. "Arrow!" Haron yelled as he watched Akari's blade start to burn through his. The woman who was said to have the name of Arrow lined up her shot, and held up a bow and arrow of fire. Akari focused her flames to her feet and kicked Haron. Arrow was about to make her shot but couldn't anymore because Akari kicked Haron. Blue flames flowed along her leg as she kicked him. Akari started running towards Arrow and swung her sword. Arrow started moving back to dodge all of her attacks. "This girl was a fool to stay here. Honestly she should've left while she had the chance. She's a sniper, she likes to work from a far. Well, I shouldn't say like, She has to." Akari thought. Hearing; that was the only thing that allowed Akari to dodge and attack so swiftly. Akari's hearing was unmatched by anyone else in the Tokyo Empire. Hearing was very important to Akari. When an entire orchestra is practicing and one person messes up, no one really should be able to hear it in the audience. But Akari could hear every instrument, every note, and every breath of air just to keep playing. It's the same in her line of work. Every breath of air, every step and slight hand movement, she could hear and sense. Some would say that she doesn't need her eyes to fight. Hearing is one thing that makes her one of the best Fire Soldiers in the Force.
It can't be helped with the amount of fire soldiers that don't have good hearing, but other techniques can be taught if trained well enough. It's hard to imagine what wonderful training one student has undergone. The thought made Akari grin as she tried cutting Arrow up.
Hina paced around Akitaru's office. She'd call Shinra if she could but she knew he was on Rekka's case right now. It worried her. "Miss Shinmon, stop pacing around the room. Your making me nervous." Mizuki said with a small frown. Mizuki was sitting on the small couch against the wall in Akitaru's office with Takehisa. Akitaru tapped his finger on his desk, he was anxious. Hibana stared at everyone in the room in annoyance. "I can't stop pacing around the room! I'm too worried about the rookies-" Hina cut herself off and stopped in the middle of the office. "Oh god." Hina muttered as she put her hand on her head. "What? What's wrong?" Mizuki asked as Takehisa looked up from the chart he was writing a report on. "I don't know why but I just got really irritated." Hina shuttered as Hibana rolled her eyes and Mizuki let out a sigh of relief. Takehisa looked back down at his chart and carried on with his work.
Back at the battle between Akari, Arrow, and Harron. Akari examined the two opponents in front of her. Akari backed up a little bit. "This has to end soon." Akari thought as she gripped her handles. Akari took a running start towards the two. She jumped over them and landed behind them taking the two completely by surprise. Akari tried to slice Arrow's back but due to Arrow moving forward while trying to dodge the blade, Akari cut through her cape making half of it rip off. Arrow turned around all the way and tried lining up her shot. Akari charged into her making them both fall off the building. As they were falling, Arrow punched Akari in the face multiple times. Before Arrow got one more punch in, Akari dropped both of the handles to her blades making the blue flame go out. Akari grabbed Arrow's fist and grinned while the one handle was still in her mouth between her teeth. Akari took the handle out of her mouth and threw it up. She then head butted Arrow hard. So hard that it made Arrow's forehead bleed. "Take that damn cloth off!" Akari yelled as she ripped the cloth off of Arrow's face revealing her face. Akari was surprised to see Arrow's face. "Oh." Akari gawked. She then smirked as she looked at the blood on her forehead. Akari caught one of the handles that started to fall next to her and emitted the flames into the blade and cut Arrow's hand. Akari kicked Arrow away from her before emitting fire out of her hand to make the fall to the ground softer for her. Akari flew up a little before falling again and hitting the ground.
Akari winced in pain after she fell on her back. Akari only emitted enough fire to the point where she knew she wouldn't get any broken bones, but it still hurt. "Damn." Akari cursed before getting back on her feet. Akari turned around and saw Haron carrying Arrow away. "Get your ass back here!" Akari yelled as she emitted a large amount of fire from her right arm and pointed it towards Haron and Arrow. The amount of fire Akari produced was extremely hot and it was so much. So much that it burned off her right sleeve. "She was limiting her flames? That's her true power?" Haron thought. Haron threw a smoke bomb on the ground before the flames hit him. Of course the smoke didn't make him teleport but it made Akari confused on where he was so she kept aiming at the spot he last was. The smoke bomb gave him time to escape. Akari stopped emitting her flames and glared. "Shit, I let them get away. And they call me the second most powerful soldier at the first." Akari muttered as the smoke cleared up. She coughed as she got a good whiff of the smoke. Akari thought if she was the second most powerful she wouldn't have let them get away. But it really couldn't be helped. "Damn that stinks." Akari coughed as she tried to fan the smoke away from her with her hand. "But I had to admit, when we fell off that roof I had a little fun. Damn she kind of beat my ass." Akari chuckled as she felt the fresh bruise forming on her cheek and her busted lip, and if her nose wasn't running it was definitely bleeding. Akari picked up her handles and put them back in the scabbard. "I should head to that warehouse. That was definitely a sneak attack. Who knows who else those arrows hit." Akari thought as she shoved her hands in her pockets. "That sniper was kind of cute. But of course I'm not the type who goes for the enemy. Maybe I should've told her that before I cut her hand open and head butted her." Akari thought as she walked away from the scene behind her.
Back at the abandoned warehouse. "They made a hell of a mess here. All I could see of them is that they wore white." Shinra muttered. Karim walked up to Tamaki and the kids. "Well Tamaki, are these all the kids you brought here?" Karim asked as he looked down at Tamaki. "Yes sir." Tamaki replied. Karim looked at her clothes and the kids that were scared out of their minds clutching on to her. Tamaki's outfit had been burned and the only parts that covered her vital areas were just barely hanging onto her. Karim took off his white overcoat. "Put this on." Karim said. Tamaki almost jumped. "Oh thanks, but I-I couldn't possibly." Tamaki declined out of respect. "It's fine, just put it on." Karim said. Tamaki took the overcoat and shyly wrapped it around her shoulders. "I appreciate it sir." Tamaki said gratefully. "Sorry Tamaki. But even though Rekka lied to you, you need to be prepared." Karim warned. "I know, I lured those children into danger. I'll accept any punishment I receive." Tamaki said. Shinra jumped down to the ground and looked at Rekka. Karim walked up to him and sighed. "I appreciate your helping us stop him." Karim said. "Did he start out hot-blooded and become a son of a bitch? Or was he a son of a bitch who ended up becoming hot-blooded? I dunno. Rekka was just Rekka to me. It's hard to imagine him keeping a secret like this. Or hiding what he really felt." Karim said. "Company Eight's investigating the other special companies, right? I bet you're after the Evangelist too. I want him caught just as much as you guys do. Let's catch him together." Karim said as he held his hand out to shake. "That sounds good to me." Shinra said as he shook Karim's hand.
"Lieutenant Li, can you sit down for me? Someone needs to wrap up your wound." Kazan said as he pulled out a first aid kit. "Please do." Li said as he sat down against a pillar. "Are you okay Kazan?" Li asked as Kazan started to wrap up Li's shoulder. "It doesn't matter if I'm okay or not. You need medical attention." Kazan said without looking up at Li. "Kazan answer the question." Li said as he put a hand on Kazan's shoulder.
A Month Ago
It happened so fast. No one could do anything. Kazan grunted as he heaved Kōfuku out of Company Nine's Matchbox. He had just dragged Kōfuku and Mizuki out and left them laid down on the sidewalk. Where was Hina and Yoku? Kazan thought. All Kazan remembers was watching Sister Hinabi getting thrown out of the vehicle. "Yoku! Captain Shinmon!" Kazan yelled. Kazan stumbled back to the match box again. The whole Matchbox was flipped upside down and crashed into a small store, Kazan couldn't even see what type of store it was anymore. The Matchbox crashed into the wall of the store. "Yoku... are you okay?" Kazan asked as he crouched next to the drivers seat of the Matchbox. Kazan's eyes widened when he seen the huge glass shard that was lodged into Yoku's chest. Yoku was a kind man in his mid twenties, he was normally seen with messy brown hair accompanied with his goggles that always sat on his forehead. Yoku had green eyes and a fair skin tone. Yoku also had a mechanical left arm. He was Company Nine's engineer, and an amazing one at that. He was creator of The Staff of Ho-Musubi and Mizuki's fans. He was very well built and had a scar on his cheek. Kazan opened the door, the only reason it was easy was because the door was loose. Kazan unbuckled his seat belt causing Yoku to fall onto the roof of the car. Kazan carefully dragged Yoku out of the car and onto the sidewalk. "Yoku... are you okay?" Kazan asked quietly. Kazan's eyes started tearing up. But a hand grabbed his jacket making Kazan gasp. "Kazan... kid." Yoku whispered. Yoku started coughing up blood. Kazan looked around at the people who started to crowd around the two. "Don't stare damn it! Call an ambulance!" Kazan yelled at the people. A woman dialed emergency services. Yoku gripped his collar and brought him down. "Kazan! Stop yelling at people. You're hurting my eardrums!" Yoku yelled weakly at Kazan. "There's no need to call anyone." Yoku said as he began to cough again. Yoku let go of Kazan's collar and wiped the blood dripping from his mouth.
"I'll be dead by the time they come. And look at you, you'll be dead if Captain Hina sees you being so loud." Yoku chuckled as he looked up into the sky. He didn't want to tell Kazan about how back his back looks. "Don't say that!" Kazan cried. "Tell me kid... did I do a good job teaching you good things?" Yoku asked. Kazan nodded frantically. "Did I do a good job making weapons for the Ninth?" Yoku asked. "Yes." Kazan replied. "Did I do a great job being everyone's friend? Did I do a good job being apart of the Ninth?" Yoku asked. "Yes! You did!" Kazan cried. "Please stop talking, you have to save your strength!" Kazan exclaimed. Yoku shook his head as he closed his eyes. "That's all I needed to hear." Yoku said as a tear slipped out his eye. "Yoku?" Kazan shuttered his question. Tears streamed down Kazan's eyes as he watched the life fade out of Yoku's eyes. He numbly stood up and stumbled through the crowd. "Captain! Captain Shinmon!" Kazan yelled. He seen another crowd down he street and started running towards the crowd. He pushed through the crowd and seen Hina hugging a body. "Captain Shinmon?" Kazan asked as he looked at the body Hina was holding. It was Sister Hinabi. Kazan thought she was dead when he seen her. Kazan's tears continued to pour down his face when he saw Hinabi. "Captain Shinmon... I think Yoku is dead." Kazan shuttered. "Is he?" Hinabi quietly asked. Kazan trembled, he thought she was already dead. Sister Hinabi was so sweet. Her hair was orange and was put in a wavy bob. Her eyes were orange and her face was covered in freckles. Hinabi had a bright smile that could light up any room. Hinabi was 151 cm tall, Hina would always make fun of her height in jest because she was so small.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry!" Kazan apologized. "Is Lieutenant Hinotsubasa and Father Kōfuku okay?" Hinabi asked. Hina looked back at Kazan and nodded, gesturing him to tell the truth if they were dead or not. "Yeah... they're fine." Kazan replied. "That's good to here... thank you. For everything." Hinabi whispered as she took her last breathe. Hina laid Hinabi down and stood up. "Sister Hinabi is dead. She wasn't going to last long with a wound like that." Hina said as she faced Kazan. "What wound?" Kazan asked as he looked down at Hinabi's lifeless body. He was surprised to see blood around her lower abdomen area. Before the Infernal threw her out of the Matchbox, it gripped her waist so hard that its fingers dug into her abdomen. Her insides were punctured. "Why... why do bad things happen to good people Captain? Why must they suffer so much?" Kazan asked as more tears streamed down his face. "Why?" Kazan asked. Hina's eyes widened. Hina walked up to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "I don't know. I... I don't know." Hina sighed. "Cry. Just cry... I don't know so just cry." That's all Hina could get out. Kazan sobbed into Hina's shoulder. Had this been the second worst thing to happen in her life? Yes. Nothing could match up to those two moments. "I'm sorry Kazan... this is all my fault." Hina muttered as she looked at his back. Large shards off glass were sticking out of Kazan's back. Due to adrenaline, Kazan couldn't feel it. Hina hit him at a point in his neck where he was sure to pass out. She wanted to save him from the pain he was going to feel once he came down from his adrenaline high. Hina caught him as ambulance sirens were heard in the distance. "I'm sorry." Hina apologized.
Now
Kazan looked up at Li. "I'm just.... sick of watching innocent people die. I'm sick of putting Infernals to rest." Kazan answered as he finished wrapping up Li's wound. "Shinra... no matter what I'll help you make human combustion a thing of the past." Kazan grinned as he wiped a tear away. Shinra nodded with a small smile. "I know now. You aren't as jumpy as Mizuki is but you remind me of her. And Lieutenant Karim reminds me of Miss Shinmon!" Kazan chuckled. Karim arched an eyebrow as Shinra looked at Karim. "Is that why he said that?" Shinra asked quietly. "Anyway, does anyone know where Lieutenant Li's arm is? If we get him to the hospital in time, they might be able to save your arm." Kazan said as he looked around. "Good evening. Sorry if I'm late. I ran into some unwanted guest in the First's Jurisdiction." A woman said as they walked into the building. It was Akari Akuma. She looked at everyone and shook her head. She walked up to Rekka and sighed. "Didn't I teach the boy to greet his superior no matter the time of day. A simple 'hi' could've been okay. I haven't spoken to him since yesterday. Damn." Akari muttered as she looked at Rekka's lifeless and frozen body. She would've preferred him to be alive and a traitor than a dead traitor. "Is everyone else alright?" Akari asked as she started walking towards Li. She was surprised to see that he was missing his right arm. "Where did your arm go?!" Akari asked loudly. "Don't move!" Kazan yelled at Akari causing her to freeze up. Akari looked down and realized that she was about to step on Li's arm. Akari picked up the arm and looked at it. "Are you looking for this?" Akari asked as she held up the arm.
"DON'T WAVE IT AROUND LIKE THAT MISS AKUMA!" Tamaki yelled in disgust. "It's not an 'it' Tamaki. It's Li's arm, have some respect for this limb." Akari joked with a pout as she started walking towards her. "How can anyone joke at a time like this?" Shinra thought to himself with an expression of disappointment. "Well, get his arm away from me!" Tamaki squealed as she backed away. "Thanks miss." Kazan said with a smile as he walked up to Akari. "Oh, it's you again. I never got your name miss." Kazan said. "Your number one devil! Akari Akuma!" Akari laughed as Karim let out a sigh of annoyance. "What? I thought Shinra was the number one devil." Kazan said as he looked at Shinra and Akari. Shinra raised an eyebrow as he examined Akari. "I don't know... Akari might get first place." Shinra said as he looked at the black horns. on Akari's head. "Well I guess I should formally introduce myself. Akari Akuma, First Class Fire Soldier, and a Third Generation Pyrokinetic." Akari said. Akari liked introducing herself. It made her feel as professional as she looked. "Kazan Nagamochi, Second Class Fire Soldier, and Third Gen." Kazan said as he tented his hands. "Shinra Kusakabe, also a Second Class Fire Soldier and also a third gen." Shinra said as he tented his hands. "Anyway, here kid. Wrap it up with some sort of cloth." Akari said as she held the hand out. "Kazan unzipped the top half of his jumpsuit, revealing his bandages and tank top. "Z-Zip your jumpsuit back up!" Tamaki yelled as she looked away. Kazan took off his tank top then he took the arm. Kazan proceeded to take off the remaining sleeve on Li's arm an wrapped it in his tank top. Akari looked at his bandages and hummed. "I highly doubt the bandages are for show. If it was for show then he'd actually put a good effort to show them off. So, he's been fighting injured this whole time. Kazan Nagamochi, you've grabbed my attention." Akari thought as she slightly smirked.
Akari took a good look at Tamaki and frowned, she hadn't noticed that the girl was half naked. But then she noticed Karim's overcoat over her shoulders. "Karim! What the hell did you think that little ass overcoat would cover?" Akari asked with a tone of disappointment. "I was just being nice!" Karim exclaimed. Akari took off the overcoat on Tamaki's shoulders. She took off her vest and gave it to Tamaki. "Here, this covers up more. Please try not to get it dirty, those vest's are really expensive." Akari said as Tamaki took the vest. "Thank you Miss Akuma." Tamaki thanked as she put the vest on. Karim took his overcoat back with a frown. "So what happened? You look pretty beat up. You weren't like that before I left. So who got to beating you?" Karim asked. Akari hummed as she scratched her non-bruised cheek. "Well... like I said, I ran into some unwanted guest. I don't know if you saw the people who were shooting at you all but it was them." Akari replied as she looked at Karim seriously. "That's why I split up with you Li. I didn't want you to intervene. That's all." Akari said. "Really? So you got a close up view of the Evangelist? What did their faces look like? What were they talking about? Did they talk about any kidnapped kids in fires?" Shinra asked frantically. "Watch you tone with Miss Akuma, Shinra. Calm down." Karim warned. "It's fine Karim, the boy is probably just eager to know what's happening. I am too. But is that what they're called? The Evangelist? Well, I did see what they looked like." Akari said as she crossed his arms. "One guy thought that he could take me down. He had these weird looking tattoos on his chin and up his mouth. He didn't have eyebrows and I don't think he even had hair. He thought he could take me down with a little ass knife, how disrespectful. Anyway, I'm pretty sure he was the muscle. And the girl was the one shooting at you with those powerful arrows of fire. She tried to shoot at me but never got a good shot." Akari chuckled. "It's a shame she was on the enemy side, she was kind of cute. She had blue eyes with arrows on them and her hair was blue. Um... I did see her face for a short time but she's the one who did this to my face. To be honest I let her get all those hits on me because the fight was boring. But she had a nasty cut on her hand and a bloody forehead now." Akari said with a smirk as Karim rolled his eyes.
"I'm sure they knew if they stayed any longer they would either die or get turned into the police." Karim said. "Yeah, that's exactly what went down. I ended up falling of the roof with our infamous archer and got the wind knocked out of her as soon as she hit the ground. But I'm fine, nothing too bad has happened to me." Akari reassured. "Did you by any chance get their names?" Li grunted as he stood up. Akari took some time to ponder. "I think the girl's name was Arrow... and the guy's name started with an H... I don't even know." Akari sighed. "Was he that boring to you?" Kazan asked as he put his medical supplies in his bag. "If Miss Akuma notices her power level is far more superior than someone else she thinks the whole battle is boring. But if she goes against someone like Captain Burns she'll be fully into the battle." Karim explains. "I don't think the guy had Pyrokinetics. Shame, I hate going up against non-powered people. Those battles aren't that intriguing to me." Akari explained. "Anyway. I'm gonna go find a phone box and call someone to take us to the hospital. When we get to the hospital I'll call Burns about the situation." Akari said before walking out the building.
Akari finally found a phone box and dialed a number. "Hey Hana.... kid I need ride." Akari said timidly. "Oh god. Not again Akuma." Hana sighed. "How come every time I ask you to get a car you say you don't need one or you don't have time to get one but every once in a while you always need a ride from me?" Hana asked angrily. "Look kid, it's urgent!" Akari exclaimed as she leaned up against the phone box's wall. "How urgent is it this time?" Hana asked. "We gotta go to the hospital." Akari replied. "What did you get your ass into this time?" Hana asked. "Not me, Li got his arm cut off and you have to drop some kids off at home. It's a long story that I'd rather not explain over the phone." Akari said. Hana looked down at her phone and her eye slightly twitched. "How many people are coming?" Hana asked. "Six at most, including me." Akari chuckled. "This isn't funny woman! Where the hell are you?" Hana asked. "You know the one neighborhood in the First's Jurisdiction with that abandoned warehouse? Yeah I'm there. Just pull up to the warehouse." Akari explained. "Oh yeah, and bring a kimono or yukata in a size small?" Akari asked. Soon Hana picked them up. Hana was a friend of Akari's. She wasn't apart of the Special Fire Force or anything but was an ally of the First. And Akari had known her ever since she was a kid. That's a lot of years, especially since Hana's 30.
Everyone had just gotten into the car when it arrived. It had eight seats so the car was pretty big. Hana had long black hair that was always put up into a bun and her bangs were perfectly cut. Her dark velvety red eyes were round and her nose was small and cute. Her skin tone was a little paler and her lips were full. She always wore nice looking overalls. "Hey guys... where's Arthur?" Shinra asked. Hana pinched her nose at Shinra's question. "Isn't that him across the street?" Kazan asked. Everyone looked across the street and sighed when they seen Arthur looking up into the sky. He was daydreaming about being a knight of course.
Soon the seven of them finally got to the hospital. Li was rushed to the emergency room while everyone sat in the waiting room. Karim and Tamaki were waiting outside for Akari. "Thanks again for getting the kids to a safe place and taking us all here, and bringing Tamaki a yukata." Akari thanked with a small smile. "Yeah don't sweat it. Li needed to be here urgently and your friend needed to cover up. She should put that on in the bathroom." Hana replied as she looked at Tamaki holding on to the dark blue yukata that Hana gave her. "But if I see that Li got any blood on the car seat, he's paying for it." Hana said with a smirk as Akari rolled her eyes. "So you don't need a ride back to the First?" Hana asked. "No, I'll call Burns about the whole thing and he'll send a truck to pick us up." Akari explained. Hana sighed before waving. "See you guys." Hana said before pulling off. "So, how are we going to tell Captain Burns about this?" Karim asked as they walked into the hospital. "I don't think we'll get in trouble for doing things without him. You should sit next to the operating room." Akari suggested as Tamaki went to the bathroom. Karim nodded before walking away. Akari walked up to the phone booth. She dialed Company One's number. "Hello?" Someone asked on the other side of the phone.
"Hey this is First Class Fire Soldier, Akari Akuma. Can I speak with Captain Burns?" Akari asked as she payed with phone's cord. "Of course. Hold on." The person put down the phone and went to go get their captain. Akari sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Akari?" Leonard asked after he picked up the phone. "Hey Leonard." Akari greeted with a small and nervous smile. "Where are you and Karim, I've been looking for you two everywhere." Leonard questioned. "I'm at the hospital." Akari replied. "Karim, Li, the rookies from the Eighth, and Tamaki are here too. I have a lot to report to you." Akari said. "What happened, who got hurt?" Leonard asked. "Li he... his right arm was cut off by a member of a group called the Evangelist. Do you know of them?" Akari asked. Akari couldn't see it but Leonard shook his head. "No. Tell me the whole story." Leonard said. Akari let out a sigh.
Akari explained the whole thing to him. "Are you okay?" Leonard asked. "Leo, this is your third time asking me this after me telling you that I got into a fight. I'm okay, you worry too much." Akari chuckled as Leonard rolled his eyes. "You sound tired, that's all." Leonard said. "Well Li's surgery is gonna be over in a few hours. Rekka's body is still at the warehouse. Do what you need with him. Could you send a truck over to pick us up?" Akari asked. "Yeah." Leonard responded. "I imagine all of the rookies from other companies will be sent back to their companies early. What a shame, I wanted to see their powers." Akari said with a small pout. "You're right, that whole story is so much paperwork it's stressing me out just hearing about it." Leonard sighed. "Well, I'll see you later." Leonard said. Akari hung up. She turned around and walked to the lobby. She saw Shinra and Arthur leaning on each other shoulders. They were asleep. "Where's that kid... Kazan?" Akari asked. "He went to wait with Lieutenant Flam." Tamaki replied as she came from behind her. Akari hummed. "Why don't you go sit down Tamaki. I'll go up there to check in with Karim." Akari said before walking off. Akari walked down the hallway where Kazan and Karim were. "Hey guys. Leonard is sending a truck to pick us up after Li's surgery is over. Of course he's staying here until he makes a full recovery." Akari explained to the two. "That's good." Kazan grinned as Karim smirked. "I'm sorry... am I missing something here?" Akari asked. "Kazan was just telling me about Company Eight. That's all." Karim replied. Akari put a hand on her hip and grinned. "That's cute. But talk while you can, you rookies are being sent back to your companies as soon as tomorrow. But it's just way too many reports to focus on you all at the same time. Not my call." Akari said. "It's fine. I was looking forward to returning to the Eighth." Kazan said with a smile. "Mind if I sit out here, until the surgery is over?" Akari asked. "Not at all Miss Akuma." Karim replied.
"You can stop calling me 'Miss Akuma' now." Akari said as she sat down next to them and crossed her legs. Karim arched an eyebrow at her words. "I really did respect you before all this but you've earned more of my respect. I only let people with a certain amount of my respect call me by my first name. And you and Li have earned a bunch of it. So go ahead and just call me Akari. And on top of that you are superior than me in rank." Akari explained. "I understand. But speaking of rank. Now that Rekka is gone we're gonna need a new Lieutenant." Karim said. "I know that." Akari replied. "They're talking about business. I always felt awkward sitting next to Miss Shinmon and Mizuki when they were talking about business that didn't involve me. I feel the same way now." Kazan thought as he nervously fidgeted with his thumbs. "I'm not taking the rank Karim. No matter how many reasons you give me." Akari said with a small smile. "I might not be able to convince you but I'm sure Burns can. You have to, you may not realize this but your leadership skills are off the chart. You're stronger than me and Li combined. You realize that Company One needs this, right? And I'm not asking you this as Karim Flam, I'm asking you this as Lieutenant Karim Flam." Karim said. Akari played with the end of her blindfold making Karim squint his eyes. She could be such a tease. Unfortunately one of the biggest mysteries in the Special Fire Force, next to Human Combustion it's what does Akari's eyes look like. "I'm surprise that you didn't use your special form of speech when trying to convince me Lieutenant Karim. But you'll have to get someone else for the job." Akari chuckled. Karim let out a sigh as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. "I guess I'll leave the job to Burns." Karim muttered. Akari pinched the bridge of her nose. "Miss Akuma, your nose is bleeding." Kazan said, his tone filled with worry. Karim sat forward as Akari stood up. "Yeah... let me go to the bathroom to fix this." Akari said before speed walking down the hallway. "Shit!" Akari cursed under her breath. As soon as she turned the corner she started running.
She almost bumped into a nurse on the way. "Hey, stop running!" The nurse yelled. "Sorry!" Akari yelled back. She burst into the bathroom. She went up to a sink and looked at the mirror. Blood was non-stop dripping down her nose. This wasn't from her fight with Arrow. This was something completely different. "Why is it happening so early?" Akari asked as she pinched her nose. It was like a waterfall.
"How unholy."
That's all she could say.
Finally the next day the rookies had to return to the Eighth. Hina filed in reports as Shinra chuckled. He wasn't gone long but he did miss the Eighth. "Hey Miss Shinmon, I got the wrong paperwork. They're asking for me to fill the wrong stuff in." Kazan said as he showed Hina the sheet of paper. Since the Ninth was so small Hina, Kazan, and Mizuki were the only ones suited to do the reports. It was a habit for Kazan to ask for help once in a while. Hina took the paper and quickly read over it. "No, it's the right stuff. You didn't read the sentence over the box." Hina said as she pointed to what she was talking about. "Oh thanks, sorry about that." Kazan chuckled as he took the paper back. He then walked back to his desk. Shinra turned to his left with a smile on his face expecting to see Hina since she always sat at the end of all the desks put together. But he was greeted with the sight of Tamaki Kotatsu. "Huh?" He questioned as he stood up. "What, no way! What are you doing here cat girl?!" Shinra asked in shock as Hina let out a sigh. "Meow." Tamaki responded. "Shinra shut up, if you haven't noticed I like to work in peace." Hina said lazily as she rubbed the back of her head. Kazan arched a brow as he looked at Shinra. "Dude, you're just now noticing she's here?" Kazan asked as he scratched his cheek. "Tamaki here has been put on suspension at the First for now on account of her role in the Hoshimiya incident. We'll be takin' her in while that lasts. I figured that with the two of you together, you'll have an easier time writing your reports on the incident." Akitaru explained. "Oh, I see, sir." Shinra asked. An idea then popped into Shinra's head. "Okay. Well, that being the case, Tamaki. Would you mind letting me have your phone number?" Shinra asked causing everyone in the room to freeze. Akitaru was just about to walk out the room when he heard Shinra say that. Hina was just about to grab another report when she heard Shinra. "What? Wait, why are you pretending you'll need my number for work? We're gonna be in the same office all day." Tamaki said with a small blush as she waved her hands around. "Though, I guess... exchanging phone numbers isn't the worst idea." Tamaki said as she started fidgeting with her fingers. "Oh my god." Mizuki muttered as she stopped writing down on her paper. "Well, that's a relief. Juggernaut's really been bugging me to help him get it from you." Shinra said with a grin as he rubbed the back of his head. Tamaki slammed her hands on her desk and stood up. "NO WAY AND DON"T ASK AGAIN!" Tamaki yelled before slipping on nothing and falling towards Shinra. A vein popped out of Hina's head as she jumped over her desk and grabbed Tamaki by the back of her jumpsuit collar. "ALL OF YOU SIT YOUR ASS DOWN SO I CAN DO MY WORK IN PEACE!" Hina bellowed as Tamaki hanged above the ground due to Hina holding her. Tamaki squealed as she seen Hina's horrifying glare. "Shinmon stop it, you're scaring the new rookie!" Mizuki exclaimed as she stood up. Hina turned around and glared at her. Mizuki fell back, Kazan had to catch her. "MISS SHINMON YOU KILLED HER!" Kazan yelled as he looked at Mizuki's rolled back eyes and her pale skin.
Kōfuku had just came back from praying. He peeked into the room and looked at Akitaru who was still holding the door open. At this point Akitaru wasn't surprised if Mizuki really was dead. He had an unimpressed look on his face. "Captain Obi. What's going on?" Kōfuku asked as he looked at Takehisa glaring at Hina. Maki and Sister Iris rushed out of the room with some paperwork. "I think it's best if you don't know Father." Akitaru said as he slowly closed the door. "Don't leave us!" Shinra yelled. As soon as Akitaru closed the door a big boom was heard. "DAMN YOU HINAWA!" Hina yelled. "Captain Obi, can we please work in your office?" Maki asked with a panicked look on her face. "Sure, I don't see why not." Akitaru replied.