Azure Akuma [Fire Force x M!Reader]

«|| 08. Shady Fedora Wearing Man

   "Your objective is to find the "Flame Person" and put the soul to rest as quickly as possible!" the referee announced. "Pretend that the building is the fire scene and enter it as you normally would! Get past the obstacles, help those in need of saving, and reach the brigade member playing the part of the Infernal as quickly a possible!" The people playing the part of the Infernals waved enthusiastically and you couldn't help but give a small grimace.

'Okay, what's up with the rundown buildings all of a sudden? It's a shit shack!' you complained in your head. For once, they should probably find someplace appealing. The fire soldiers next to you had vocalized their opinions on the task, showing off their abilities in the process.

"Fire's scary... fire's scary... fire is scary," A somewhat timid voice chanted quietly. "I'll put it out! I'll definitely put it out!" The boy was, tall. Very tall, but you couldn't gawk at him any longer, as Tamaki seemed to be doing the same thing to you, only with a scowl on her face. You whipped around quickly, not wanting to deal with the girl just yet. 'Just ignore, just ignore.'

"Ready?" Everyone got in their stances and Shinra pointed to an open window with a rather smug look on his face. You nodded in a silent agreement and gave him a grin of your own. The referee sent off a flare from his finger. "Start!"

And with that, everyone bolted towards the opening of the warehouse, all with one goal in mind. Only, you and Shinra were the only ones who didn't budge an inch. You did notice some glances sent in your and Shinra's direction, but you brushed them off. "Alright [Name], let's do this." Blue flames licked at the heels of your feet in anticipation.

With a swift nod, you both shot upwards, the blue and orange of your and Shinra's flames melding together beautifully. You watched as the contestants' faces changed from a look of determination to looks of pure awe. Tamaki seemed to get riled up at this and bent low onto all fours, her red flames forming cat ears and twin tails. "Damnit!" She screamed, "That's not fair... Nekomata!"

You cupped your hands over your mouth and yelled back, "He said to 'enter it as you normally would'!" You didn't wait for the girl's response as you turned around and followed Shinra through the open window, though the sentence along probably sent her into an unnecessary tizzy. Your feet fizzed lightly upon contact with the cool tiled floors, and your eyes raked over your surroundings. "This place looks even worse on the inside... it's a dump." The words came rolling off your tongue before you even had a chance to think about it.

"What's up with your fixation on calling things a dump? You say it all the time... it's kind of insulting," Shinra complained, and you only shrugged in response, throwing him a look of mild disgust.

"You can't ignore the facts," You strode forward, kicking a stray piece of wire as you did so. "Anyway, we're supposed to be looking for the infernals, no? Where the hell are they?" If they were trying to make this 'cat-and-mouse' game a little more difficult, they weren't doing a very good job at it. You picked at a loose piece of drop tile and sighed. The material merely crumbled in your hold.
"Oh yeah, sorry about dragging you with me to go see the captain," Shinra started. "I had some questions for him, but he only gave me more..." The boy frowned, contemplating something.

"Ah, he was the First Captain, right? Yeah, don't worry about it too much. I had my hands 'full' as well." You could feel your face getting warm at the thought of it alone and Shinra wore mild confusion on his features. You coughed obnoxiously, desperate to not have to elaborate.

Instead of asking about what you meant, Shinra only nodded with a small grin and went ahead to jog past you. "If anyone needs saving, speak now or forever hold your peace!" He continued to pace forward until something seemingly caught his attention. Slightly curious as to what he was looking at, you bounded up to him, the drop tile long forgotten, and looked down.