Archive of Our Own

The most interesting thing to happen to Tamaki in a good long while starts on a particularly uninteresting day. 

She’s sitting in the corner of the break room, eating her lunch in peaceful silence, when Arthur and Shinra come in. They’re sniping at each other in the half-teasing, half-murderous way she’s come to expect from any interaction between the other rookies at the Eight. Tamaki enjoys the quiet of her own company, really, but doesn’t mind the soothing sounds of Shinra threatening to shove Excalibur up Arthur’s ass either. It’s nice to just be around other people, even if it’s from a distance.

In all honesty, she's still reeling a little from her unceremonious suspension to Company Eight– though after a couple weeks she’s starting to settle in. It’s a much smaller company than the 1st, but all the people here are awesome. In her calmer moments, Tamaki can admit that Special Cathedral Eight is starting to feel a bit like a home, even if she’s still an outsider amongst the close-knit 8th.

Of course, she can only feel so close to the 8th when her Lecher Lure acts up every time she’s around them as a group. It’s isolating, to be sure, but she’s used to it by now. People got used to it at the 1st, eventually stopped calling her a slut behind her back (or at least where she could hear them– though that had a lot to do with Lieutenant Rekka, and– actually, she doesn’t really feel like thinking about this right now.)

While she's lost in her thoughts, Shinra and Arthur cross the room to join her at lunch. The duo settle down at the table in the center of the room, and Shinra greets her with a wave, which she returns. Arthur is apparently too hungry to process her presence, and is already inhaling food like a vacuum. 

Usually, Shinra would be racing him to the bottom of the bowl already, but right now something seems to be bothering him. Something about her, actually– Shinra is staring at her with a slight frown on his lips. Tamaki does her best to ignore it, until Shinra stands up and breaks the relative silence of the room.

“Why are you in the corner by yourself? Come and sit with me.” Shinra pats the table in front of him with a mildly demanding expression on his face.

“If I sit over there, my Lecher Lure is just gonna cause problems for you,” she responds– not impolitely, but a bit impatiently, because surely Shinra has noticed by now that Tamaki can’t have a normal conversation with a coworker– especially not a guy her age– and remain fully clothed. Honestly, it’s just easier for everyone if she’s judicious with her personal space. 

Shinra doesn’t seem to be getting the memo, though, because instead of leaving her be, he’s getting up and walking over to her corner. He slumps into the chair next to her with a sigh. “Well then, I’ll sit in the corner. You can have the table."

“Nah, I’m used to it,” she replies, waving a hand towards him unconcernedly. He shouldn’t have to go out of his way to deal with her shitty curse. 

Instead of getting up, though, Shinra pushes her hand back with his own. “I bet I’m more used to sitting in the corner,” he says, with an air of comfortable self-deprecation. “Give the Devil his due.”

She pushes his hand back with a slight grunt, then he playfully slaps her hand away again, and then–

Nothing happens. All of Tamaki’s clothes stay on, she doesn’t manage to somehow trip tits-first into Shinra’s face, and her panties don’t fly off onto his tray. Tamaki feels like she’s holding her breath, as she waits for the Lecher Lure to somehow trigger and ruin this interaction.

But nothing happens, still. Shinra seems completely unaware of her concern, happily eating next to her without a second thought. Tamaki forces herself to relax. If something was gonna happen, it would’ve by now. 

Although… something seems off about the whole situation. She hasn’t had this normal of an interaction with any man except for her father since she was twelve. Really, the novelty of eating side-by-side with a coworker and friend, fully clothed, takes her breath away.

She sneaks a sideways glance at Shinra’s face, contemplating. 

—

Now that she thinks about it– really thinks about it, thoroughly– has her Lecher Lure ever activated on Shinra? She usually only sees him in group settings, and any number of disasters are apt to befall her when surrounded by groups of guys her age. But as much as she scours her memory, she can’t ever remember her Lure tripping her up while alone with Shinra.

To be sure, though, will require some testing.

She hasn’t spent much time with Shinra alone. Whenever Company 8 pairs up, she makes sure to hang on to Sister Iris or Maki. Pretty much every part of being a fire soldier is easier when your clothes stay on, so she prefers to stick with the other girls.

(That’s not to say it goes away around other girls– far from it, in fact. She’s lost count of how many times Maki’s hand has inadvertently ended up inside of her jumpsuit while sparring. But any small improvement to her chances of staying clothed is a good thing.)

Over the course of the next few days, she goes out of her way to get paired up with Shinra. She stands next to him at morning roll call, so Lieutenant Hinawa will send them on errands together.  She volunteers to spar with him when Arthur gets called away by the Captain to weld the third floor staircase back together with Excalibur, again. She trades chore days with Sister Iris so she and Shinra are assigned to wash dishes together and inventory the equipment room.

The days she spends around Shinra are some of the most delightfully uneventful of her career as a fire soldier. Her Lecher Lure doesn’t act up once. It’s truly a novelty to spar with someone and come out with her jumpsuit completely intact. 

After two weeks of rigorous scientific testing, she’s certain– somehow, by the grace of Sol, she’s stumbled onto the only teenage boy in the entire Tokyo Empire who’s immune to her Lucky Lecher Lure.

— 

About a week later, she finds herself walking side-by-side with Shinra down the sidewalk, on the way back to Special Fire Cathedral Eight. The rest of the company is up ahead of them, riotous with laughter and the pleasant glow of a warm meal in good company.

It’s well past sunset, and the sky above the street is nearly dark. Tamaki notes faint streaks of navy blue winding through black on the western horizon, like fingerprints left by the setting sun. The streets are illuminated by a mix of street lamps and neon restaurant signs.

They’re coming back from a celebratory meal for a job well done, Captain Obi’s treat. It’s nice, she thinks, that the 8th are so comfortable together that they can all go out to eat on a whim like this. If the 1st wanted to do the same, she thinks wryly, they would have to book out an entire restaurant a month in advance– and even then, they probably wouldn’t all fit. The 8th, though, had arrived at the restaurant in high spirits and piled into a single booth. The ten of them were squished elbow-to-elbow and cheek-to-cheek, with Tamaki strategically positioning herself between Maki and Shinra. 

Now, she and Shinra are hanging back from the group, watching their comrades charge ahead as they walk back to the Cathedral. Captain Obi and Maki have Arthur, who is dead asleep, slung between them like a sack of potatoes. His hair, which had somehow escaped its customary top knot, is brushing the concrete sidewalk lazily. 

“Do you think they’re gonna drop him?” she asks Shinra, half jokingly. 

“Nah, Maki’s got him. Actually, now that I think about it, there’s a non-zero chance she drops him on purpose…”

Tamaki giggles a bit at that, and then lapse back into comfortable silence. They’re almost at the Cathedral now, and Arthur is being violently hoisted up the steps by their teammates. Tamaki winces in sympathy as his head barely misses the unforgiving concrete of the top step.

Beside her, Shinra’s pace suddenly drops off. She turns to him, a question on her lips, only to be met with a serious expression that gives her pause. Shinra locks eyes with her consideringly for a beat, then looks away with a sigh as he starts to speak.

“Look, Tamaki, I need to talk to you about something real quick. I feel like you’ve been spending a lot of time with me recently, and I love hanging out with you as a friend, but I just wanna be clear about our relationship in case I’m sending any mixed signals or anything–” 

Tamaki quickly cuts him off, a panicked blush rising in her cheeks, as she realizes just what he’s implying. “No, no, I swear it’s not anything like that, really–”

“I just don’t wanna lead you on or anything–”

“–and I PROMISE I don’t see you that way, if anything,–”

“–cause it could make things awkward down the line–”

“–you’re like a brother to me.”

“–if we aren’t on the same page– wait, what?”

Tamaki turns to face Shinra, and hopes her expression conveys just how seriously she means this. “Shinra, you are such an awesome guy, but believe me when I say– you are so not my type. You’re an amazing friend, and I’m lucky to be your teammate, but I promise I’m not looking for anything more from you.”

Shinra gives her a nervous grin. “Well, I guess I just look like a presumptuous asshole now, huh,” he says, stretching the back of his head awkwardly.

“No, no, I totally get you making sure we’re on the same page,” Tamaki responds, waving her hands frantically. “I’ve been sticking really close to you lately, I don’t blame you for coming to that conclusion.”

“Yeah,” says Shinra, looking a little less embarrassed. “Not that I mind it, of course, but we’ve never been that close and it kind of threw me off.”

It stings a little to hear one of her closest male friends say that they’re not that close, but Tamaki gets it. She will always have an extra layer of distance in her friendships that most people don’t have to deal with. Close means two different things to her and Shinra. 

“I do have something to confess to you, though, I guess,” she says, turning away from him. The rest of the company has made it inside, and they’re the only ones left out on the street.They continue towards the Cathedral, Shinra falls into step next to her again.

“This is gonna sound dumb,” she warns him as they ascend the Cathedral’s steps, “but I think you’re immune to my Lucky Lecher Lure.”

She braces herself for doubt and denial, but it doesn’t come. When glances at Shinra, he’s already looking at her with that same serious expression from earlier on his face. 

“Is that why you’ve been partnering up with me so much recently?” 

“Yeah,” she admits, easily. “I know it’s selfish of me to monopolize your time like that, but it’s really nice to not have to watch myself around you constantly. It can get so tiring. And it’s relaxing to not have to worry about my clothes malfunctioning mid-spar when we train together.”

“Though,” she continues, pouting a little now, “I thought I was being pretty subtle about it.”

Shinra chuckles a little at that, and they pause at the top of the steps. “Honestly,” he says, “I probably wouldn’t have noticed if the Sister hadn’t told me you changed chore schedules with her three times this week.”

Tamaki makes a mental note to yell at (lightly scold) Sister Iris later. “Obviously, I like you as a person plenty. Your weird immunity to my Lure is just a bonus. I don’t want you to think I’m just hanging around you for that.”

Shinra gives her a faint smile, which would be underwhelming from anyone else, but from Shinra is the equivalent of a passionate declaration of lifelong friendship. His rare smiles are hard-won, and Tamaki feels honored to be witness to one. 

He holds out a hand to her. “Let’s make a deal,” he says. “I’ll partner up with you when I can, on missions, and you’ll keep sparring with me during training– I want us to work on combo moves together. Sound good?”

Tamaki hesitates. “I dunno. It kind of sounds like you’re getting the short end of the deal. I’m pretty far below your level in training. Wouldn’t it be better to work on combos with Arthur?”

Shinra’s nose scrunches in irritation at the mention of their knightly comrade-in-arms. “Me and Arthur don’t have that kind of chemistry– my powers are much more compatible with yours. At least, you’re way more bearable,” he says, grumbling.

“Isn’t it kind of unfair to you, to have to babysit me?”

“What kind of hero would I be if I couldn’t even rescue my own teammate from her weird curse?”

“If you’re sure then,” says Tamaki, and takes his hand. They shake once, then Shinra grins up at her– not his shy smile from before, but a properly-devilish smirk.

“Congrats, Tamaki. You just made a deal with the devil,” he says, jokingly.

“Don’t make me regret it,” she shoots back, and they enter the Cathedral together.

— 

She’s made a mistake. 

Shinra is a fucking demon once you get him started on something at training. She’s been practicing the same attack with him for almost an hour straight, and he keeps calling for one more time, never quite satisfied with the result. 

Tamaki is half-dead on her feet, but forces herself to keep moving. How will she catch up to her teammates if she can’t even handle training at the same level they do? Arthur is in the training yard with them as well, and Tamaki thinks she hasn’t seen him take a break from mauling training dummies since they came outside three hours ago.

It's weird to be here with other the two of them. Usually, Tamaki would hang back and get her training in once the yard was clear of guys. She tries to avoid training in groups, unless, of course, she’s sparring– that’s one training activity that she could never replicate on her own.

Shinra is working them both to the bone trying to figure out how to best utilize their combined speed into a deadly combo attack. If they mix her Nekomata Burst and his Rapid with a dash of perfect timing, Shinra had explained, they could increase each other’s momentum significantly, resulting in quicker travel and harder hits. 

Right now, though, they’re mostly just throwing each other into the ground repeatedly. She can tell they’re both getting frustrated, but Shinra shows no signs of slowing down, so neither will she. 

“One more time,” Shinra wheezes from where she had just slammed him into the dirt. He staggers to his feet, groaning under his breath, as she winces in sympathy. They both gave up on apologizing to each other around the 20th miss, but there’s a shared undercurrent of mutual regret present. 

“I would say I have a good feeling about this one,” she quips, “but with my luck, we’ll probably both end up on the ground somehow if I jinx it.”

Shinra groans, and drags his hands down his face. “I know this can work,” he says. “We just have to get the timing right…”

“Yeah,” she replies. “Do you wanna throw or get thrown this time?”

“I think it’s my turn to get thrown,” Shinra replies. 

Tamaki steps towards him, and they get in position. They lock arms, forearms pressed together and hands clasped around elbows. 

Then, Tamaki musters her fading strength, and yanks Shinra off the ground into a spin. As she swings him in a tight circle around her body, she can feel his flames propelling him faster than her strength alone could manage. 

At the peak of his arc, Shinra yells “Now, Tamaki!” but she doesn’t need it. Something feels different about this one– she can see the exact timing needed, like the next few steps are laid out in front of her. 

She flings her body backwards, activating her Nekomata burst right as she releases Shinra. The surge from her flames sends her stumbling to her knees, but Shinra– he flies out of her grasp, flame trailing behind him like a shooting star. 

That was it, she thinks breathlessly, as she watches him cut a graceful arc though the air, all controlled momentum and devastating force. We willed that into being with nothing more than our own power and our minds.

Then, Shinra slams into the Cathedral wall at the far end of the training yard. Tamaki’s hands come up to her mouth in a gasp, and she experiences a second of heart-stopping terror where she genuinely believes that she has killed her teammate.

Shinra proves durable as ever, though, and pops out of the new devil-shaped hole in the wall with a smile stretching across his face. She can’t quite tell if it’s excitement or terror, but his excited shout of “TAMAKI! THAT WAS IT!” certainly makes his feelings clear. With a burst of flame, he rushes over to her, hand outstretched. They high-five, and the resounding slap! echoes through the courtyard. 

“That was totally it,” says Shinra, stars in his eyes. If he vibrates any harder with excitement, Tamaki thinks, he might fly away. “I need to work on the landing a bit more, but it worked! 

“That looks like an instant killshot to me,” Tamaki replies. “No infernal is surviving us!”

“Yeah!” Shinra cheers, hands thrown up in the air. He elbows her playfully, and jokingly says, “Looks like our black cat isn’t such a bad luck charm after all.”

Tamaki gives him a pleased smile. “Let’s try it the other way now– that looked awesome, I want my turn!” 

They’re about to set up for another attempt, when the door to the training yard bangs open. Lieutenant Hinawa cuts an imposing figure in the door frame, and he surveys the massive hole in the wall dispassionately.

His head turns slowly towards the duo where they stand. “Someone better explain to me what happened here in the next five seconds, or I’m pulling out a firearm and shooting myself.”

Tamaki and Shinra gulp in tandem.

Behind them, Arthur slashes the heads off another two training dummies. They drop to the ground with an anticlimactic whoosh.

—

The first time they successfully use their new combo move in battle, they get a standing ovation from the company after the Sister’s latom . Captain Obi discreetly sheds a few proud, fatherly tears, and even the Lieutenant looks impressed. 

“That was bad-ass ,” says Maki, as she and Tamaki help clear away the debris generated by the fight. “Is that what you two were working on when you put Shinra through a wall?”

Tamaki makes a little irate noise. “It was a small hole, and we fixed it the day after!”

“Either way,” grunts Maki, hefting another massive slab of broken asphalt onto her shoulders, “it was awesome. Our rookies are growing up so fast!”

Tamaki almost reminds Maki that she isn’t technically part of the 8th, that this will all come to an end when her suspension gets revoked, but the mood is too cheerful to be dragged down by depressing truths. 

Instead, Tamaki smiles and chimes out a “thanks!” in response.

At dinner that night, Shinra regales the team with the story of their many failed attempts to nail their new move. Vulcan jokes that they could power a small reactor with that kind of energy, and Licht looks disturbingly intrigued by that idea. 

The atmosphere is cheerful and genial, and Tamaki feels more comfortable than she has been in a while as she sits between Maki and Shinra. It feels like stress is seeping off of her shoulders and into the ground around her, leaving her light as air. The 8th is a singular entity, and she is snuggled into the warm embrace of its laughter and jokes.

—

With the resounding success of their first combo move, they start developing more. They spend an inordinate amount of time together between training and missions. Shinra drags her to the training ground, the roof, and the Cathedral’s gym at a truly frightening rate. 

Was he always like this, she wonders, or does Arthur’s mere presence in the same building as him spin his already-competitive nature into hyperdrive, leading to a gross obsession with incessant improvement? No matter how he comes by it, though, Shinra’s constant drive to improve is infectious. He takes any chance to learn and grow, drawing on knowledge from the most arcane of places– and she’s more than happy to come along for the ride.

That’s how Tamaki finds herself in a dance studio thirty minutes from the Cathedral, waiting for the Intro to Breakdancing class Shinra had signed them up for to start. She almost can’t believe that this is what she’s doing, on one of their rare days off.

“I promise you're gonna love it,” says Shinra excitedly. He’s sitting next to her on the studio floor stretching, touching his toes with an ease Tamaki envies. 

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” says Tamaki, regretfully, as she reaches for her feet. Her spine pops uncomfortably. “I’m gonna fall and break my neck.” 

“Don’t worry, Tamaki! I’ll heroically catch you before you can break anything vital.”

“What about the non-vital parts?”

Shinra looks at her serenely. “Sometimes, you need to take a fall or two for the sake of the learning process.” As he speaks, he rearranges his arms into a painful shoulder lock that looks more like an interrogation technique than a warm-up stretch. 

“That does not make me feel better, Shinra.”

“Just think of this as another training exercise,” coaxes Shinra. “Breakdancing is great for your mobility, flexibility, and core strength. It’s good practice!”

Tamaki’s growing sense of dread is interrupted by the arrival of the teacher. As the class goes through a gentle warm-up, it’s immediately obvious to her how comfortable Shinra seems here. He flows through the movements their teacher is demonstrating easily, looking relaxed and mellow in a way she’s never seen.

For her part, Tamaki feels like she’s keeping up alright. The two of them are in the back corner of the room, in anticipation of any Lure-related wardrobe malfunctions. But Shinra’s presence seems to be working its nullifying magic, and the worst that happens is the straps of her tank top repeatedly slipping down.

Their teacher walks them through the handstand partner exercise they’re all supposed to try. Tamaki finds herself inverted, balancing precariously on her hands, with Shinra’s fingers around her ankles. She’s wobbling all over the place as Shinra frantically whispers corrections at her, trying to keep her upright. 

When it’s Shinra’s turn to try, Tamaki doesn’t have to do much of anything. Shinra flips into an effortless handstand, staying obstinately still while suspended in the air. One of his arms leaves the ground, as he shifts his weight all onto his left hand, legs starfishing out to the side to maintain his balance. 

He really is something else, thinks Tamaki, as she watches him float midair. Clearly, her Lucky Lecher Lure isn’t the only law of nature that doesn’t apply to Shinra– apparently, he isn’t confined by the restraints of gravity either. 

Tamaki pokes him in the side, and he immediately collapses into an undignified pile next to her. She giggles a little at the look of abject betrayal on his face, and soon the two of them are doing their level best to muffle snorts of laughter before they piss off the teacher and interrupt the class. 

By the grace of Sol, Tamaki makes it through the rest of the hour without breaking any bones, although she has a couple near misses. On the walk back to Special Fire Cathedral Eight, they duck into a convenience store, savoring the cool blast of the AC as they seek refuge from the summer sun. Shinra buys them both popsicles, and pays before Tamaki can protest. She drips sticky red cherry syrup all over her fingers as they slowly walk down the sidewalk, summer heat wafting off the concrete. 

“Thanks for coming with me today,” says Shinra. The tips of his fingers are stained an artificial, noxious red. She watches as another drop of syrup runs down his popsicle stick and onto his knuckles, leaving a trail of sticky pink behind it. 

“Thanks for bringing me,” she replies. “I was wondering, though… how’d you get into breakdancing in the first place? It’s kind of random.”

“One of the people at Hajima thought it would be good for me, and I had a couple instructors. I kept it up after moving to the Academy cause its combat application is just so good with my ability.”

“You’re really talented,” she says, seriously. "I dunno how you do it."

Shinra scratches the back of his head awkwardly, nervous smile stretching across his face. “Thanks, Tamaki! You’re not half bad, either, for your first time.”

They finish the walk to the Cathedral in a comfortable silence, popsicles melting down their hands and tounges.

—

Whenever the 8th pairs off in the field, unless explicitly ordered otherwise, Tamaki always seems to find herself with either Maki or Shinra. Sometimes, she’s even donning a habit and joining Sister Iris, though those occasions are far less frequent. Between their perpetual field partnership, and training, she’s seeing more of Shinra than just about anyone else these days. Even outside of their duties, she is spending more and more of her precious little free time with him. 

They nap together on the roof of the Cathedral when the weather is particularly sunny, and walk to the corner store a block away to get melon ice cream when the summer heat gets oppressive. They go to breakdancing classes occasionally, because Tamaki has to admit that Shinra was right about it being a great addition to her training regiment. She, Iris, and Maki drag him shopping with them, feeding him treats at fancy cafes and loading him down with their bags. And sometimes, after a particularly tiring mission, Shinra will beg her to go with him to that one fried chicken place where he swears the pickled radish is way better than everywhere else.

Shinra, she’s slowly discovering, is more similar to her than she ever could have imagined. It’s kind of concerning, really, how easy it is to spend time with him. She had once thought that no one would ever really understand the heaviness of her self-imposed distance, and the cold isolation holding her apart from those around her. 

But Shinra, more than anyone else she’s ever met, knows what it is to be separated from his peers by something he can’t control. He knows the empty corners and awkward stares and malicious whispers that nip at her heels wherever she goes. They’re two halves of a matched set– a little worse for the wear, but plenty complimentary nonetheless.

—

Tamaki has always been a gift-giver. When she was younger, she had brought her mother cool rocks and pretty leaves she found in the park. Now, it becomes second nature for her to collect little tokens of thanks to give to Shinra.

She brings him snacks– rice balls, shrimp crackers, candies– and small trinkets, as a way to silently say thank you for being my friend even though I’m a little off-putting and use you as a human shield against creeps way more than I really should.

The others notice, of course, but almost no one is brave enough to comment on it. The old lady behind the counter store jokes that she treats her boyfriend way too well when Tamaki buys Shinra snacks for the third time in a week. She laughs it off, slightly antsy, but the lady’s teasing expression stays with her until she gets back to the Cathedral. 

Tamaki doesn’t like it when people make assumptions like that, but she doesn’t want to stop showing Shinra her appreciation for their friendship, either. He’s one of the few guys– or people in general, really– to look at her since her Lure flared up, and not see her as a catty bitch, a slut, or a man-stealer, even a tiny bit. Even the best of men, who see her as an unfortunate victim of circumstance, can’t help but feel a little uncomfortable in her presence– like she’s defiling their honor just by existing around them.

With Shinra, though, she doesn’t have to worry about either of them being uncomfortable. She can just exist, be totally herself around a guy. It’s almost as refreshing as the sweet, summery breeze that grazes her shoulders as she climbs the rickety fire escape, plastic bag of snacks in hand.

Shinra is right where she left him, sprawled gracelessly on the roof of the Cathedral. He looks like a dog, soaking up the sun with his arms and legs thrown out towards the sky. After a miserable morning of barely surviving Maki’s cardio circuit, they deserve a little rest and relaxation, Tamaki thinks. 

“Snacks,” she says, and Shinra is on her like an excited puppy. He stuffs his face with rice balls as soon as he manages to get them out of the package, and sighs in contentment.

“Tamaki, you’re an angel,” says Shinra, an onigiri in both hands. 

“Not quite,” she says, a twinge of laughter in her voice. “Haven’t you heard? I’m a dangerous dorobo neko, here to seduce away your virtue.”

Shinra points, accusingly. “Back away, foul villain! You won’t get me that easily– a hero never compromises his virtue. But-” he says, pausing to take a bite of onigiri- “if you keep feeding me, you might just be well on your way to succeeding.”

In lieu of a response, Tamaki laughs and passes Shinra the chip bag she’s struggling to open. He tears it open easily– his sharp teeth are shockingly helpful when it comes to stymying packaging– and she starts to stuff her face with shrimp chips. 

Their meal comes to a sudden halt when the access door to the roof squeaks open behind them. Shinra and Tamaki turn around in tandem, both mid-bite, to see Sister Iris walk out onto the roof. 

Her eyes widen when she sees the two of them, and her expression turns apologetic. 

“I was just coming up here to check out the weather, but I don’t want to interrupt anything! I’ll leave you two be.” With that, she turns around, and starts to head back inside. Tamaki and Shinra share a confused glance, then startle into action.

“Wait, Iris!” calls Tamaki. “You don’t have to leave on our account. It’s not like we own the rooftop or anything.”

To her left, Shinra nods. There’s red beetroot juice dripping down his chin, and the overall effect makes him look like a demonic extra in a B-list horror movie. “Yeah, come join us! Tamaki bought way too much food for two people, anyway.”

“I don’t want to interrupt,” says Iris, still edging towards the door. Before she can make her escape, Shinra speaks again. 

“Sister, I promise you aren’t interrupting anything like that. Me and Tamaki are just friends, and you’re our friend too. Come eat snacks with us!” Shinra punctates his point by waving his half eaten onigiri around. 

“Yeah, what he said,” says Tamaki. “C’mon, Iris, I bought sliced melon and I know you love honeydew.”

Iris’s hesitation visibly collapses at the mention of her favorite fruit. Before Tamaki knows it, she’s joined them on the edge of the roof, joking with Shinra and stuffing her face with sticky sweet melon.

Tamaki smiles as she lets her feet dangle off the end of the roof. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and she’s hanging out with some of her best friends, fully clothed- what more could she ask for? 

—

They spend the afternoon like that, until Arthur somehow wanders outside and provokes Shinra to blows with his mere existence. Tamaki and Iris laugh their asses off over their antics, as the hero and the knight roll around the roof in a decidedly unheroic, unknightly wrestling match. 

“Those two are like cats and dogs,” says Iris, entertained. “They just look at each other and smell a fight.”

“Nah,” says Tamaki. “I think they’re more like… puppies.” Arthur has Shinra in a decent headlock, but as she watches, Shinra sneaks an arm out and smacks Arthur on the back of his head. Startled, Arthur loses his balance, and Shinra is able to break out of his hold. 

“Puppies?” asks Iris, a hint of amused laughter in her voice the their antics. Tamaki watches out of the corner of her eye as the Sister pops another piece of melon into her mouth.

“They play-fight to get each other’s attention,” replies Tamaki. “Like a puppy that bites at your ankles when it’s hyper.”

“I’m not sure if I would really call this play fighting,” replies Sister Iris. “I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure Arthur is trying to behead Shinra right now. I didn’t even see him get Excalibur out…”

“Oh my god, you’re totally right. ARTHUR! SHINRA! CUT THAT OUT RIGHT NOW BEFORE THE LIEUTENANT NOTICES!”

Predictably, they pay Tamaki no heed, and Arthur takes another swing at Shinra’s neck. She can hear him yelling something about slaying devils, but can’t quite make out the exact words over Sister Iris’s laughter. 

Tamaki sighs, and rolls up her sleeves. Sol protect me, she thinks, and heads over to break up the fight.

—

The next morning, she joins Sister Iris in her morning prayers. It’s a habit she doesn’t maintain as religiously as she probably should, considering she could be called on to perform last rites in the field at any minute.

The morning air is dewy with the weight of potential. In the Sister’s garden, everything seems a bit sharper and more real– there’s a tangible energy here that Tamaki has only ever felt at the chapel in Special Cathedral One. It lies thickly along the ground in the early hours, and Tamaki can feel it seeping through her skin as she and the Sister douse themselves in water. 

As she prays, her mind drifts back to the 1st. No matter how hard she focuses, she will never be able to separate her prayers from her time at Company One, from her time with Lieutenant Rekka. Tamaki does her best to refocus, and follows the flow of Iris’s voice as she prays out loud. The soothing tones of prayer chase away the heavy-hanging doubt in her heart that re-emerges whenever she thinks of Rekka. 

His death had taken everything from her– her post at the 1st, her conviction in her faith, and, worst of all, her confidence in her own judgement. How could she trust herself to choose right in the field, with lives on the line, when she couldn’t even spot the monster hiding in plain sight right next to her?

“I pray for this company. Let Sol’s hand guide us in battle, and shelter us from flame that would harm us. Let Sol’s blessing keep our weapons and hearts steadfast. And should we fail, let Sol’s mercy bring us back to his embrace.” 

The melodious rise-and-fall of Sister Iris’s voice drags Tamaki’s attention back to the present. This is why, she thinks. Even if she feels damaged and childish, when she steps into the field with the 8th, they’re relying on her. She has to surpass her doubts, to become stronger– for her comrades, for her friends. 

“May Sol’s everlasting, divine light guide us forward,” intones Sister Iris, finishing the prayer.

“Latom, ” whispers Tamaki, in time with the Sister. She presses her hands to her chest, and squeezes them there tightly, as if to seal the prayer away inside her heart. 

—

At the team debrief that afternoon, Tamaki can’t shake the feeling she’s being watched as she listens to the Captain speak. Not in a weird way– and trust her, she’s able to tell the difference. She just feels… observed, like someone is studying her under a microscope, or examining her closely before dissection to decide where the first incision should go. 

“This will be a simple, routine training exercise,” says Captain Obi. “For the sake of convenience, we’ll be splitting ourselves into teams of two beforehand. I don’t care who ends up with who, you guys decide.”

“Me and Tamaki will do it together,” offers Shinra, from where he’s sprawled over the couch in the corner. Shinra does a lot of sprawling, she’s noticed. If she didn’t know better, she would say that he’s the cat between them. 

“That fine with you, Tamaki?” asks the Captain.

“Of course,” she replies. “We have a new move we’ve been working on– it’s gonna blow your minds!” Shinra gives a lazy fist-pump of agreement. 

Next to Shinra, Licht fans his eyes dramatically, fake-sniffling. “It warms my heart to see the kids getting along like this. Incredible, truly.”

“Yeah, yeah,” snarks Shinra. He’s trying to seem annoyed, but Tamaki can tell he’s more pleased than anything. 

Tamaki feels a sudden shiver run up her spine, as the feeling of being watched returns full force. If she were really a cat, she'd probably be hissing and arching her back by now, but since he’s a human girl, she just risks a quick glance behind her instead.

She shoots a look over her shoulder, and pauses in confusion. The only person standing behind her is Arthur, who’s running his fingers over Excalibur’s hilt with a disinterested expression. He’s probably not processing a word the Captain says, off in some fantasy world. 

Weird, she thinks, as she turns around and gives another involuntary shiver. 

—

Shinra and Tamaki are prowling the halls of Company Four, on an errand for the Captain. He'd sent them to drop off some confidential paperwork to Captain Hauge– so confidential it couldn’t be faxed or emailed or even mailed, apparently. So Tamaki and Shinra make the trek down to Special Fire Cathedral Four– and, by extension, the Special Fire Force Training Academy.

It’s been less than a year since she graduated from the academy, but it feels like longer, really. The layout of the hallways is as familiar as ever, but the smells, the sounds, the sensations, feel like part of a distant dream. 

Tamaki has fond memories of the academy. She never had any close friends, because her Lecher Lure made it hard to hang around groups of people, but she had enjoyed herself on her own plenty. Enrolling in the academy gave her a sense of purpose she had never felt before. It felt like she was finally doing things right– finally making her family proud, finally doing something worthwhile for herself. It’s nice, really, to see it again, even if she no longer feels quite as at home as she once had. The Academy gave her a clearly defined place in the world, and for that, she’ll be forever grateful to it. 

For his part, though, Shinra has looked increasingly uncomfortable ever since they stepped foot inside the Special Fire Force Training Academy, nervous grin growing wider by the second. The sight leaves Tamaki unsettled. She’s gotten so used to spending time with Shinra when he’s comfortable and happy, even, that it’s been a while since she’s seen that face.

Shinra had a much worse experience at the academy than she did, she knows. They had been enrolled around the same time, but between her self-imposed isolation and his… reputation, they had never really crossed paths. These hallways might hold a sense of faint, wistful nostalgia for Tamaki, but represent something much darker to her friend.  

And it probably isn't helping matters that last time he entered Company Four, he had been unceremoniously possessed and thrown into a death match with Arthur. Hell, her nerves would be shot too.

As he gets more nervous, Shinra’s walk speeds up until Tamaki is on the verge of breaking into a run to keep up with him. “Shinra,” she hisses. “Slow the fuck down, I can’t walk that fast.”

“Sorry, Tamaki,” he mumbles, hands sliding nervously into his pockets. It almost looks like he’s trying to shrink into his uniform. It’s weird to see Shinra, normally a vibrating ball of potential energy, so quiet and small. 

They drop off the paperwork without incident. Shinra and Captain Hauge even manage to exchange pleasantries without any possession taking place. As soon as it’s polite to do so, Tamaki excuses them from the office and the two start the long walk out of the Academy. 

The students must have been dismissed for break while they were in the office, because the previously empty hallways are filled with students roaming about in their training jumpsuits as Shinra and Tamaki make their way towards the entrance hall. Their Company Eight uniforms stick out like sore thumbs, spots of black and blue in a sea of orange. 

The crowds make it even tougher to speed out of the Academy like she had hoped to. If Shinra gets any more tense, she’s afraid his spine will shatter from the pressure. And the whispers suddenly following them don’t help matters.

Tamaki was pretty unremarkable in her time at the academy, except for a memorable incident when her combat instructor had ended up with a face full of her panties. But Shinra had been a part of the school mythos– the Devil’s Footprints, the boy who killed his family with a smile on his face. Even though he had left the academy behind, it had its claws sunk into the rumors that whirled around him. 

She’s no stranger to having judgemental eyes on her, but most of the time their attention is tempered with a healthy dose of lust, and second hand embarrassment. This is a different feeling– cool and slimy, congealing in her stomach like a rock. It’s no better or worse than the attention she’s used to, just uncomfortable in a different way. 

“Forget what I said earlier,” she whispers to Shinra. “Walk as fast as you want.”

They almost make it to the exit before trouble finds them. In this case, trouble takes the form of a shortish, average looking boy with the worst blonde dye job Tamaki has ever seen, and his trio of equally unnoticeable friends. Tamaki subtly places Shinra in between her and the boys, lest her uniform suddenly develop a severe allergy to her body.

“Kusakabe!” the ringleader greets. “It’s been a while. Pretty bold of you to show up here again after what happened last time.”

“Okubo,” replies Shinra, injecting more condescension than Tamaki previously thought possible into the name. To the untrained eye, Shinra looks totally relaxed, if not a bit annoyed. But Tamaki can see the tension in his hands, the slight strain in his expression, as he begins to speak. “It has been a while, huh. I haven’t seen you since your piss-poor performance at finals last year– remember, when I graduated, and you didn’t?”

Shitty Blonde sneers lightly at Shinra. “Talking big for someone who got shipped off to the 8th cause no one else would willingly take on a devil. At least the Academy wanted me here.” The hallway is almost completely silent, and Tamaki can feel the weight of the crowd’s attention on her friend. 

Shinra leans away from the group, looking for all the world like he doesn’t give a shit about the conversation currently happening. “Actually, I specifically applied for the 8th. Speaking of,” and he turns to face Tamaki, “we have to get going.” He starts to tug her towards the door, continuing breezily, “You understand, of course– people to save, infernals to put to rest. Important stuff like that.” 

The force of Shinra’s grip on her forearm spells out to her just how uncomfortable he is right now. Tamaki lets herself be dragged to the end of the entrance hall, eager to escape the pervasive tension of the crowd. As she passes them, she gives Shitty Blonde and friends a mocking wave, wrinkling her nose at them. 

Of course, her Lucky Letcher Lure chooses this moment to act up and things go to shit.

She trips over an uneven tile on the floor, and falls out of Shinra’s grasp. Trapped in her own momentum, she tumbles head-over-heels to the ground, and knows with dreadful certainty that every single student in the entry hall probably just got a great view of her panties. She swears that the jacket of her uniform unbuttons itself mid-fall, because she finds herself in a heap on the floor, bra visible to the world. 

Tamaki blushes, and hurries to get up as Shinra pulls her to her feet. Honestly, she’s a little relieved– all her unmentionables are still attached to her body, and her tits didn’t end up in any places tits should never be. It’s still embarrassing to trip over her own feet like that, to be sure, but she’s had much worse. 

As she re-buttons her jacket, Shinra’s charming acquaintance lets out a peal of laughter at her predicament. “Damn, Kusakabe, what a catch! What sort of devil magic did you use to get your hands on such a hottie? She knows a guy like me could give her a way better time, right?” 

Tamaki sees Shinra’s eyes tense, his smile grow a little more strained. The words mostly roll off of her back. Honestly, not the most creative heckling she’s ever experienced. 3 out of 10 stars.

“Don’t talk to Tamaki like that,” snaps Shinra. If he seemed relaxed before, now he’s definitely rearing for a fight. There’s a faint smell of smoke in the air, and when Tamaki looks down, she can see the beginnings of a dark haze materializing around Shinra’s feet. 

“No need to be so unfriendly, god. I was just asking how you scared that poor girl into going along with you. What, did you threaten to kill her entire family too, or something?” 

The hall goes dead silent. Shinra’s entire body locks up, but Tamaki doesn’t get a chance to see how he reacts because she’s already swinging. 

Her first punch makes sweet, sweet contact with the nose of the bitchy little boy who decided to run his mouth at her friend. The next gets him right in the stomach, followed by an elbow to the side. As he fails, Tamaki hooks leg behind his ankle. She can almost feel Maki’s hands guiding her form, like a guardian angel of well-deserved vengeance. Her arms go around his waist, and she flips his whole body over her shoulder, sending him crashing into the unforgiving tile floor. He lets out a satisfying wheeze as he hits the ground. 

Tamaki crouches down next to him, and leans close to his ear. She speaks over the sound of his twitchy, erratic breathing, in the most threatening tone she can manage. “Don’t you dare talk to either of us like that ever again. Some has-been academy washup has no right to speak to his superiors like that. Next time, I’ll break your fucking leg, okay?” 

As she stands up, her knees crack uncomfortably. The hallway is no longer silent, but awash with the noise of cell phone cameras, whispered gossip, and quiet laughter. Tamaki doesn’t look backwards as she sweeps towards the entrance,  tugging a shell-shocked Shinra out the door. 

They walk about five minutes away from the academy before Shinra remembers he is able to speak and seems to regain his full cognitive abilities. 

“You didn’t need to do that,” he says, aimlessly kicking at loose gravel on the sidewalk. “It’s nothing I haven’t heard before.”

“He was annoying me. You know I have a short temper. Besides, he was laughing at me, too.”

“That makes me feel worse,” Shinra groans, rubbing at his eyes. “You just beat the shit outta that guy cause he insulted me, but I was too out of it to do anything when he was making fun of you.”

“It’s fine,” Tamaki says. Then, ruefully– “it’s nothing I haven’t heard before.”

Their eyes meet from across the sidewalk with mutual understanding. Shinra drops his gaze first. “Well, even if you were just working out your own aggression, thanks anyway.”

“Words are a meaningless currency,” she says. “Prove your gratitude by buying me expensive pastries.”

Shinra smiles at her– a real, genuine smile, not half-hearted or hidden under layers of shame. “After a grapple like that? Hell, I’ll buy you all the pastries in the world if Maki doesn’t get to you first. She’s gonna be so proud.”

“I know, right?” says Tamaki. She resolves then and there to supplex more men into the ground. It really is just as gratifying as Maki makes it seem. 

—

Arthur and Shinra have a… complicated relationship, to say the least. 

It’s something that Tamaki has come to terms with, just like every other member of the 8th. And she honestly doesn’t really mind it, most of the time. This is just a fact of life– the sky is blue, Princess Hibana refers to all men as gravel, and Shinra and Arthur will inevitably take shots at each other pretty much any time they make eye contact. 

Though maybe she isn’t giving them enough credit. On the surface, their relationship is defined by mutual annoyance, low-stakes rivalry, and dumb arguments. But anyone who takes the time to look deeper than that can see the strong current of mutual respect underwriting their antagonism. 

It’s the way they move on the battlefield that sells it for Tamaki. Despite what Shinra claims, he and Arthur are anything but incompatible in combat. When she watches them fight, it’s clear that the two of them are locked in an orbit of their own, like twin stars feeding on each other’s fire. Shinra’s bright, loud explosions are perfectly tempered by the cool flicker of Arthur’s flame as Excalibur cuts precise arcs through the air.

But you wouldn’t know any of that looking at the two now.

Tamaki groans in annoyance as the two come to blows at the dinner table for what she thinks is the third time this week. Or maybe under the dinner table is a more apt description of what’s going on right now. The two are rolling around on the floor of the team dining room, wrestling with what looks like lethal intent, if you ask her. 

They’re both yelling at each other, something incomprehensible about swords and dumbasses and incredible bodily violence. Noisy, bothersome boys. Their food sits on the table, forlorn and abandoned. 

From across the table, Maki groans and slams her forehead into the wooden tabletop. “Permission to punch them both in the face, captain?” she wheezes out, cheek smushed against the table in annoyance. 

“Permission denied,” replies Captain Obi crisply. “But,” he continues wryly, “believe me, I understand the urge.”

“One peaceful dinner,” replies Maki. “That’s all I’m asking for. Captain, please do something about them or I swear to god I will take matters into my own hands.”

“Me and Vulcan can have full-body restraints ready within three minutes,” cuts in Licht, sounding concerningly hopeful.  He pauses, an ominous glint entering his eye. “I need a few solid test subjects, anyway.”

Tamaki and Iris share a look of despair as the thump! of Shinra flinging Arthur into a wall rattles through the room, shaking the dishes on the table and interrupting their conversation. Tamaki watches the water in her cup wobble dangerously. 

Maki looks like she’s about to jump out of her chair and beat the fear of god into the boys. Before she can descend on them in a blaze of wrath, though, Lieutenant Hinawa gets up from the table, a placating hand on Maki’s shoulder as he rises. 

He adjusts his glasses with one hand, and says “Thank you for the offer, Licht. We may have to seriously consider it next time, but for now, I’ll handle this.”

“Oh shit, ” says Tamaki under her breath, filled with a renewed fear for the life of her comrades– no longer at each other’s hands, but rather by the righteous hand of the Lieutenant. Sister Iris clasps her hands together in silent prayer.

Lieutenant Hinawa pulls out a pistol (why is he strapped up at dinnertime? Tamaki desperately wants to know, but is too scared to ask) and promptly fires a clean two shots into Shinra and Arthur’s sides.

They collapse into a heap on top of each other, Shinra growling in pain and Arthur patting his chest with a mystified expression, as if shocked to be alive. Tamaki’s eye catches on the glint of bullet casings, crumpled on the ground after the non-lethal impact. 

“Shinra. Arthur. You two seem to have a lot of energy, even though you haven’t eaten dinner yet.” There’s a dangerous glint in the Lieutenant’s eye, and the two boys sprawled across the floor have matching expressions of extreme remorse dawning on their faces. 

“Since you’re so hyper," he continues, "Why don’t you come with me? I have a job for you two. Of course, you can leave your plates at the table, seeing how neither of you was hungry enough to bother eating. Don’t worry about clearing them either– we can do that later, when we come back to clean this whole room.”

Shinra is desperately trying to make eye contact with Captain Obi, hoping to find mercy there, but the Captain is carefully avoiding his panicked stare. Tamaki and the rest of the 8th watch in silent sympathy as the Lieutenant all but drags Arthur and Shinra out of the room. 

Sister Iris is the first to break the ensuing silence. “I know those two have their fights but… is it just me, or does anyone else feel like things have been a little more tense than usual lately?”

“You’re definitely not imagining it,” says Tamaki quickly. “I feel like they’ve been at each other’s throats way more than usual for the past two weeks.”

“I’ve been noticing that too,” Captain Obi chimes in. “I didn’t feel any need to interfere before, but now, I feel like things are crossing a line.”

Maki slams her hands down on the table. “They’re way past the line, Captain! They’re been un-fucking-bearable– I can’t eat a meal, use the training room, or even file fucking paperwork in peace because those damn morons are always going at it!” 

Tamaki makes amused eye contact with Vulcan from across the table at Maki’s unfortunate choice of phrasing, stifling a giggle. 

“Does anyone know what the problem is, though?” asks Vulcan, chin propped in his hand. “It seems like they’re, I dunno, upset with each other or something?” 

“Tamaki, any ideas?” asks Captain Obi. “You probably spend the most time with either of them, so if anyone could guess, it would be you.”

The entire table turns towards her, and Tamaki feels a little put on the spot. “I can’t think of anything off the top of my head,” she says. “But it kinda seems like…” 

Tamaki pauses, trying to figure out how to verbalize her thoughts. “I think Arthur is the one escalating things, but of course Shinra’s dumbass never backs down from a fight when Arthur is involved. I’m not really sure why though. He just seems extra annoyed with Shinra, for some reason.”

“From what I’ve seen,” says Maki, “it kind of seems like he’s trying to pick fights on purpose, to get Shinra’s attention or something.”

The conversation pauses as they all take a second to digest that uncomfortable theory. 

The silence is unceremoniously broken by Tamaki’s stomach, which chooses the most awkward time possible to let out a huge rumble. She blushes in slight embarrassment as the 8th dissolves into smiles and laughter around her. 

It’s a nice change of pace to have people laughing at her for something completely mundane instead of an impromptu, unwilling strip show. She covers her smile with one hand, her embarrassment forgotten under the warm glow of being in on the joke, for once.

“Still hungry, Tamaki?” asks the Captain. “I think Hinawa left some extra rice on the stove…”

As she takes her bowl to the kitchen, Tamaki can’t help but smile. She really loves it here. The 1st will always hold a special place in her heart, but Company Eight feels more like home every day. 

—

She’s out running some personal errands at the mall when she trips over a man weighed down with what looks like twenty kilos of shopping bags. 

Not only does she manage to knock half the bags out of his arms, but she also gives him a nice, long look at her panties as she falls, she’s sure. Tamaki curses herself for her decision to wear a skirt, and apologizes profusely as she helps pick up scattered bags.

“I am seriously so sorry,” she says, as she piles another armful of bags back onto the man’s arms. “I should’ve been watching where I was going better.”

He gives her a tense smile, and replies, “As long as you help me pick these up before my boss notices I dropped her stuff–” He cuts off, a look of sudden horror crossing his face at the sight of something Tamaki can’t see. She feels her heart plummet into her stomach.

“What do we have here?” A haughty, feminine voice comes from behind her, and the man stiffens with terror. Tamaki turns around, sheepishly, only to be greeted by a very familiar head of pastel-pink hair.

“Princess Hibana?” she squeaks, mortified. Not only did she accidentally accost a fellow fire soldier, then, but she also interrupted the affairs of the 5th’s notoriously short-tempered captain. 

Surprisingly, though, Princess Hibana doesn’t seem upset. If Tamaki didn’t know any better, she’d even say that the Captain looks pleasantly surprised to see her. 

“Tamaki Kotatsu, right? What a coincidence, running into you here.” Hibana is distractingly gorgeous, and it takes a conscious effort on Tamaki’s part to focus on the words coming out of her mouth, and not her mouth itself. Or any other part of her beautiful body, really.

“I was just on some personal errands since I have this afternoon off,” says Tamaki, holding up her own shopping bags as evidence to corroborate her story. “I accidentally ran into your… assistant, here, and knocked down some of your bags. I’m so sorry!” 

Tamaki gives a quick bow of apology, then looks up at Hibana. She braces for a scolding, or maybe just a smack upside the head, but neither come. Instead, the Captain of the 5th levels a considering glance at her. 

“Tamaki. Are you hungry?”

—

Princess Hibana takes her to a cafe down the street that has a pastry case bigger than the Matchbox and pretty pink tablecloths covering the befrilled tables. The inside of the cafe is done up in pastels, and the window table Tamaki is led to has a scenic view of the street outside.

The Princess orders for both of them, and before long, the wait staff has deposited an incredible array of pastries and tea cakes in front of them, along with a full tea service. Tamaki nervously nibbles at a chocolate pastry while Hibana pours herself a cup, and takes a leisurely sip. The earthy scent of Earl Grey wafts across the table to Tamaki. The steam from the cup submissively curls around Princess Hibana’s fingers as she begins to speak. 

“So, Tamaki. You’re settling in well at the 8th, no?” she asks. “I haven’t caught you around their ratty, run-down Cathedral yet, but I’ve heard good things about your recent missions with them.” Her sharp eyes flit to Tamaki appraisingly, waiting for a response.

“Well, I’m technically just there on suspension for now,” says Tamaki. She ignores the pit that opens in her stomach when she states this obvious fact. “But I like it there. They’re fun, if a little unusual.”

“I hear you’re getting along with Shinra well.”

“Yeah, he’s a great friend,” Tamaki replies nervously. Princess Hibana’s protective streak over Shinra is common knowledge around the 8th, and she’s a little scared that saying the wrong thing will leave her a Tamaki-shaped smear of ash on the pretty pink wallpaper behind her.

“That’s nice,” replies Hibana, noncommittally. She pauses to take another sip of tea, then continues, “It’s good for him to spend time around girls his age. Between you and Iris, we’ll make a civilized young man out of him yet.” 

Tamaki laughs awkwardly, and returns to picking at her pastry. She has no idea what to say. How does one go about making small talk with the intimidatingly beautiful and intelligent Captain of the 5th? 

Luckily, she doesn’t have to do much, because Princess Hibana seems to know exactly where she wants this conversation to go. “Let me get straight to the point, Tamaki. What are your intentions with Shinra?”

“We’re friends,” she says, teeth slightly gritted. “ Just friends. Good ones.” Tamaki feels oddly defensive now, instead of vaguely anxious– who is Hibana, who only flits into the Cathedral on occasion to check on Shinra and bother Iris and Licht, to question her friendships? 

Princess Hibana laughs, clearly amused at Tamaki’s sudden change in tone. “No need to sound so offended. I just worry for him, you know? And,” she leans toward Tamaki, with a sharp glint in her eyes, “for the record, that’s not what I was implying.”

Tamaki tries to reign in her frustration for the sake of politeness, and only somewhat succeeds. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be rude. It’s just a bit of a sore spot.”

“I understand how you feel. But us pretty girls shouldn’t fight. We’re better off sticking together, you know?”

Tamaki can’t help but blush a little, with someone as dead gorgeous as Princess Hibana calling her pretty. “You flatter me too much, Captain.”

“I flatter everyone exactly the right amount, and don’t you ever question my judgement again, got it?” Hibana sets down her cup with a delicate clink!, and runs an elegant finger along its gilded rim. “Besides, I, of all people, should know how it feels to have assumptions made about you based on appearance alone, shouldn’t I?”

Princess Hibana– youngest captain in the history of the force, powerful, beautiful. Maybe a little too beautiful. That face is gonna get her in trouble someday, Tamaki remembers Lieutenant Reka joking to her. 

“How do you deal with it?” asks Tamaki, unable to contain her frustration any longer. “No matter what I do, my appearance is always the first thing people care about, instead of my skill as a soldier, or even my personality or some dumb shit like that. It makes me feel so… small.” Tamaki’s foot bounces under the table in agitation. “And my dumb Lure just makes it worse.”

“I’m sure it doesn’t help matters,” replies the Princess. She takes another sip of her tea, and continues speaking. “Let me give you some advice, as your senior,” she says. “You will meet many, many people in your life who will never see you as more than a beautiful girl. But what gravel thinks of you isn’t important– what matters is that you find somewhere where you are appreciated for more than your looks, and fight for your right to stay there.”

“Is that what you’ve done, then?” asks Tamaki, genuinely curious. 

Hibana laughs now, and her expression is amiably amused. “I’m Captain of my company, I answer to no one thanks to the nature of my research, and I have unlimited access to supplies and materials for my work. Not to mention, I have a company full of gravel willing to throw itself at my feet at any minute!” she declares. From where she’s sitting, Tamaki can look through the glass of the cafe’s window and see the poor grunt Hibana had waiting outside for her while she and Tamaki ate. He’s covered in shopping bags, sweating in the midday heat. 

Inside the cafe, the Princess tips her head back, smiling. “There’s nothing else I could possibly wish for in my life,” she concludes with an air of certainty. There's a glint in her eyes that tells Tamaki she's being completely honest. “You have to understand, I’m a scientist first and foremost. My work has my heart– you could say it’s a guiding light, of sorts. I’m telling you that you need something similar– something that you can reassure yourself makes the rest of all this worth it.”

Tamaki takes a slow sip of tea, contemplating. “I think I get it,” she says. 

“Excellent!” Hibana sets down her cup smoothly with one hand, and motions for the check with the other. Then, she places one elegant hand over Tamaki’s forearm, as she rises from the table, giving it a reassuring pat. “I’m glad we were able to have this little chat.” 

In sharp contrast to her appearance, the Princess’s hands are roughly callused, Tamaki notices. The evidence of her devotion to her research is skin-deep. “Thank you so much for treating me, Captain Hibana.”

The Captain waves a well-groomed hand at Tamaki dismissively. “It was my pleasure. You’re an interesting girl, Tamaki Kotatsu. I look forward to seeing where you go in the future.” 

She goes to take her leave, then turns toward Tamaki with a final request. “Keep an eye on Shinra for me, will you?”

With that, Princess Hibana sweeps out of the cafe, leaving behind a lingering hint of electric static mixed sweet, floral perfume. She barks an inaudible order at her grunt, who begins to stagger after her, strength fading under the weight of a day’s worth of purchases.

Tamaki watches her go, thoughts churning busily.  

—

If you had asked Tamaki six months ago what her guiding light was, she would’ve said Lieutenant Reka without a second thought. He was everything she thought she wanted to be, everything she was striving for. He was strong, confident, useful to the Company. He saved lives. He made people smile.

Most of all, everyone liked him. 

In retrospect, Tamaki thinks, that might be what she envied and admired about Reka above all else. No one ever seemed displeased with him. He never let people down. No one talked about him behind his back.

Then, of course, it all went to shit. Reka’s perfect image died with him, and Tamaki’s career at the 1st went up in flames. She was suspended, and without Reka’s protection, some of the more nasty rumors about her began to circulate again. 

When Reka died, the shot went clear through him. The setting sun illuminated the hole in his heart like the embers of a dying sun, suspended in time. Sometimes, in the small hours of the morning, Tamaki presses a hand to her chest and feels an identical wound under her fingertips. 

In the aftermath of his death, she felt isolated, totally alone– she wasn’t particularly close with anyone else at Company One. Why would she need to be, when she had him? And with Reka was gone, there was no one for her to turn to, no one to fill the gaping hole he left behind in her life.

Who could she talk to, even if she did seek out comfort? Did she even deserve compassion? Shouldn’t she suffer just as much as those kids she would’ve helped Reka kill?

She wasn’t just mourning Reka. She was mourning who she thought he was, the stability and comfort and guidance he gave her. She was mourning the feeling that she mattered to someone, outside of what she could do for them. There was no one to support Tamaki, then. She grieved for Reka in solitude.

But now, she thinks, things are different. 

She could get up from her bed and walk down the hallway and open up her chest to reveal the yawning, bleeding hole where her heart should be to any one of her friends. And they would listen, and comfort her when she inevitably started to cry.

At the 1st, Reka’s nurturing embrace turned into walls of self-imposed solitude once he died. At the 8th, Tamaki found a way over those walls. She found genuine human connection, found trust and friendship the likes of which she thought she would never find again, after Reka died.

She has her answer, then.

— 

“This is a transfer request,” states Lieutenant Hinawa baldly. He’s sitting at his desk, looking at Tamaki with a peculiar expression on his face.

“That's correct."

“Close my door,” says the Lieutenant. 

She ends up sitting stiffly in a chair at the opposite to his end of his desk. Lieutenant Hinawa regards her with a serious expression that usually only emerges while in the field. Tamaki wilts a little under his scrutiny, but doesn’t let her resolve waver. 

“You’re sure this is what you want?” he asks. “I understand things at Company One are probably difficult for you right now, given the situation with Lieutenant Reka. But you still have friends, family, and a promising career there.”

“Respectfully, sir,” says Tamaki, “I’ve been thinking long and hard about this for a while. This isn’t just some emotional whim. I’m certain this is what’s best for me.”

Lieutenant Hinawa gives her an assessing glance. “Company Eight, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, lacks many of the resources you have access to at the 1st. You’ll be taking a significant pay cut, and obviously the facilities leave much to be desired.” As if on cue, the radiator in the room gives a distressed groan.

“I know that I’m giving up a lot, to transfer out of Company One. But I also know that Company One can’t give me what I need anymore. Company Eight is where I can grow to my fullest potential as a fire soldier.”

As soon as the words leave her mouth, Tamaki feels her resolve harden rock-solid. After weeks of sleepless nights, verbalizing her midnight thoughts makes them so much more real and true. 

Lieutenant Hinawa is staring at her intently, and Tamaki imagines he can see the strength of her resolve rolling off of her in waves. He sighs, and adjusts his glasses with his knuckles. “You’re still technically suspended from the 1st, so it might take me a week or so to iron out the details. But,” continues the Lieutenant, neatly placing her transfer request form at the very top of his incoming paperwork stack, “I’ll figure out all the details. It’ll get done, one way or another.”

“Thank you, sir!” says Tamaki, voice a little shaky with excitement. She snaps into a crisp salute, then turns to leave. She’s halfway out the door when Lieutenant Hinawa speaks again. 

“Tamaki,” he says. She turns to face him, hand still on the doorknob.

He gives her a faint smile. “We’re lucky to have you.”

As she walks down the hallway, there’s a skip in her step. Tamaki smiles, a calm sense of satisfaction sinking into her skin. 

—

Arthur corners her while she’s mopping the upstairs hallways the day after she puts in her transfer request. He’s hovering obnoxiously in her peripherals, clearly trying to get her attention as she works, but not wanting to incur her wrath by interrupting her. 

Finally she takes mercy on him, and turns around to address him. “Didn’t the Lieutenant give you chores to do, also?” she asks, mildly irate at his intrusion.

“Actually, I already cleared all of my required quests,” he shoots back, with an air of accomplishment that makes it seem like he took out an army of infernals instead of the trash. His mind is truly a bizarre place, she thinks.

“I’m here,” he continues, with an air of regality, “to ask you an important question.”

“Okay, shoot,” responds Tamaki, slightly apprehensive. 

“Are you dating Shinra?” 

Tamaki drops her mop in surprise. It hits the floor with a hollow clunk. “What the fuck, Arthur? God, how many times do I have to tell you morons that we’re just friends?” 

His brow furrows in confusion, like he doesn’t understand what he’s done wrong to upset her. “It’s a pretty simple question,” he grumbles. 

“For such an observant guy, you can really be dumb as rocks, huh? We’re not fucking together, got it? And we never will be,” declares Tamaki, with an air of finality. “Don’t ask me about this again unless you wanna get suplexed into the floor.”

Arthur looks at her consideringly. What she wouldn’t give to see inside his head– the lack of social graces he sometimes exhibits is truly astounding. 

“What a dumb question,” she grumbles as she resumes mopping. 

Next to her, Arthur sighs dramatically. “For the record, I actually didn’t think you guys were dating. But everyone kept telling me you probably secretly are, and Shinra just got mad when I asked him, so I figured you were my best chance to get an actual answer.”

Tamaki feels her annoyance die down a little. “Wow, I guess you’re less dumb than you seem if you were able to realize that.”

Arthur shrugs, unperturbed by her insult. “I just know Shinra would never date you. “

“What makes you say that?” she asks, suspiciously.

“You’re not his type,” says Arthur, with a shocking air of finality. 

“...huh.” 

Arthur wanders off, curiosity apparently satiated. Tamaki finishes mopping the hallway in silent contemplation. 

—

“And here’s to the newest official member of Company Eight!” declares the Captain with a flourish. He’s met by a round of cheers from around the table that warms Tamaki’s heart.

The 8th had arrived at the restaurant in high spirits, after Tamaki’s transfer paperwork had gone through and the Captain declared it a cause for celebration. The ten of them were squished into a single booth, elbow-to-elbow and cheek-to-cheek, with Tamaki pressed comfortably between Sister Iris and Shinra. 

When she had announced the news at the team meeting that afternoon, Shinra had almost melted through the tiles he was standing on in shock. Before she knew it, she had 150 pounds of over-excited teenage boy jumping up on her, yelling about how we’re gonna develop an entire set of combo moves now that I get to have them forever and we’re gonna kick so much infernal ass together and I’m so happy you’re staying! 

Maki had gotten to her next, and swept her off her feet into a bear hug, with Sister Iris clinging to her arm in excitement. The Captain had given her an enthusiastic pat on the back, the Lieutenant a small smile. From Vulcan, Lisa, and Licht, she had collected a fist-bump, a warm congratulations, Tamaki! and a truly baffling jazz-hands maneuver, respectively.

Lieutenant Hinawa commandeers the grill plate at the far end of the table, grilling strips of meat for the rest of the table with a concentrated expression. Tamaki’s mouth waters at the smell. Around her, the rest of her crewmates are laughing, chewing, and passing dishes between each other. 

Good food, good people, good company. What more could she ask for, truly? Tamaki looks around the table, smiling to herself. She can feel the Reka-shaped hole in her heart shrink, even if it’s just a little, at the sight of her teammates and friends so happy together. 

A flicker of movement catches Tamaki's eye, and she turns her head just in time to catch Arthur sneaking extra meat into Shinra’s bowl while he’s distracted. Shinra, engrossed in a serious debate with Vulcan over the best way to grill pork belly, doesn’t notice.

Weird, she thinks– but it’s hard to care about her crewmate’s strange friendship when she has sizzling beef in her bowl, fresh off the grill plate. 

Tamaki eats until she swears she can’t anymore, then eats a little more. Full stomach, full heart, or whatever they say, right? 

As the meal winds down, the energy at the table drops to a pleasant low hum. Lisa and Vulcan, off in their own world, murmur quietly to each other. Sister Iris is leaning against Captain Obi’s side, dead asleep, as the Captain makes quiet conversation with Lieutenant Hinawa. Maki is determinedly shoveling leftover meat into her mouth, while Licht fiddles with something on his phone to her left. Shinra and Arthur are conspicuously absent. 

“I’m going to the bathroom,” she says, rising from the table. Captain Obi shoots her a careful thumbs-up, so as to not disturb the sleeping Sister. 

Tamaki picks her way through the crowded floor restaurant, until she reaches the hallway that leads to the bathrooms. It’s quiet here, sequestered away from the buzz of the restaurant floor. 

As she makes her way through the hallway, she pauses by the open door which leads into the restaurant’s side alley. There’s a singular lamp illuminating the darkness of the alleyway, and Tamaki is just about to move on when she notices a blur of movement right outside the puddle of golden lamp-light spilling across the alley's brick floor. 

She squints, unsure at first what she’s seeing. When the details finally do come into fuzzy focus, it’s all she can do to hold in a gasp. 

Shinra has Arthur pressed up against the far wall of the alleyway, where the long fingers of lamplight pooling on the ground don’t reach, and is kissing him with a softness that she’s never seen him handle Arthur with before– or anything else, for that matter.  They’re wrapped tightly around each other, pressed so close they almost look like a singular being. It’s like a moment out of a painting, or a romance drama.

She slowly backs away, careful to not disturb the two in their little pocket of silence. Tamaki turns around, and heads back to the table. She can’t wait to hear what Shinra has to say about this.

— 

After they leave the restaurant, the 8th begins the short journey back to the Cathedral. They’re taking up way more of the sidewalk than they should, a mess of laughter and the warm reassurance that comes from a good meal with good friends. 

Shinra and Arthur are trailing a little behind the group, speaking softly to each other. Tamaki can almost feel the collective sigh of relief the whole Company breathes, at the sight of those two having their first civil conversation in what feels like months. It was definitely more than just a conversation, Tamaki knows, but she’ll leave that to the two of them to disclose. 

Tamaki finds herself propping Sister Iris up from one side, while Maki manhandles her on the other. Between the two of them, they miraculously prevent the Sister from getting concussed on any telephone poles or street signs, as she flops around, boneless and sleepy. The rest of the Company is no help, and it’s by the grace of Sol that she and Maki manage to get the Sister into bed uninjured. Tamaki feels bad for keeping her up so late– normally, Sister Iris observes a strict bedtime– but as they carefully lower her into her bed, her hands somehow get tangled in Tamaki’s clothes and Tamaki loses her shirt. 

She keeps Iris up late, Iris strips her– the karmic scales seem pretty well balanced, to Tamaki.

Before retiring to her room for the night, she swings by Shinra and Arthur’s room– either to grill Shinra on what happened or to subtly manipulate him into confessing everything to her. When she knocks, she doesn’t get any response. 

“Shinra?” she stage-whispers with her cheek pressed against the door, mindful of her volume as not to wake any of the other residents of the Cathedral. When no response comes, she presses her ear to the door. 

Nothing. She cracks the door open a little, and the sight that greets her almost makes her melt with how cute it is. Or maybe gag a little, honestly. A healthy mixture of both, in all likelihood. 

Shinra and Arthur are both dead asleep, crammed into Arthur’s bottom bunk which was definitely not designed with two teenage boys in mind. Their limbs are sprawled uncomfortably over each other, and Shinra’s hand is tangled in Arthur’s hair. Their chests rise and fall in eerie unison. 

Tamaki slowly eases the door shut, careful not to disturb the two. She’s starting to feel a little morally unclean, with all her unwitting voyeurism tonight– like she’s the lecher for once. She makes a mental note to avoid any place the two of them could conceivably be alone together for the next week or so. 

—

The next morning at breakfast, Shinra looks inordinately pleased with himself. He’s wearing a hoodie that Tamaki doesn’t recognize as his, but still looks suspiciously familiar. 

“You look happy,” she says, taking a seat next to him. “Anything you wanna tell me?”

“What, can a guy not just be in a good mood?” shoots back Shinra, noncombatively.

Tamaki is about to respond when Arthur stumbles into the kitchen, rubbing sleep from his eyes. She has to do a double-take at his neck, because he looks, for the lack of a better description, mildly mauled. 

“What happened to you ,” she asks, slightly aghast. Shinra is unbearably smug next to her. 

Arthur’s eyes flicker between the two of them, equal parts suspicious and sleepy. “Lost a duel with a devil.”

Tamaki snorts into her morning tea. “Oh, I’m sure.” 

She’s about to start in on the teasing when the klaxon alarm goes off. She takes half a second to mourn for her abandoned breakfast, then jumps into action alongside Shinra and Arthur. The three of them are on their feet immediately, running towards the locker room at breakneck pace.

Tamaki is yanking her bulky kevlar jacket on when Maki bursts into the locker room, breathing heavily. “Two infernals spotted in the Taito district! Two buildings are already on fire, so we have to haul ass over there,” Maki announces to the room, as she secures her own hear

“Roger!” replies Tamaki, wrenching her jacket closed. She resolves to double-check it before leaving the matchbox- of all people, she can definitely never be too careful. 

The next few minutes are a whirlwind of movement. She rushes into the matchbox with the rest of her team, and Lieutenant Hinawa starts tearing up the roads around them at speeds that would be felonious if they were anyone else. She almost bites her tongue as he takes a particularly sharp corner. 

In the back of the Matchbox, Captain Obi debriefs the team while double-checking the ammo in the Lieutenant's guns. Maki is carefully calibrating her mechs, while Sister Iris prays quietly to herself under her breath. Shinra rolls out his shoulders experimentally, while Arthur runs his hand absent-mindedly over Excalibur’s hilt. 

Watching her team like this brings Tamaki a strange sense of serenity, completely at odds with the current situation. They're heading towards an active fire scene– she should be nervous, pumped up on adrenaline, jittery. But instead of any of that, Tamaki feels grounded in a way she hasn’t in months. 

A guiding light, she tells herself, thinking back to Princess Hibana’s words. Something that makes the rest of it worth it. 

The Matchbox screeches to a halt. The Special Fire Force Company Eight deploys, and Tamaki is right there with them– one of them, part of them. She jumps out of the Matchbox, and can’t help the small smile that flits across her face as she joins the rest of her company.