01x06 - The Spark of Promise

[bunniefuu]

Causes of death are many and varied old age illness su1c1de.

But out of that long, morbid list,

there's one end that people fear above all others.

Anybody home?

This will be a good chance for me to see how far

I can go against a company captain.

That said, I've got no chance. If

I can't deal with that weird power.

It ends for you here, huh? Cause

the Angels three.. Have come for me.

All right, Iris, be a good girl

and watch your allies from the eighth burn.

Why are you doing this? Maybe you

should ask that God of Salvation.

You're still pledged to. There are just

two ways you can live in this world.

You can burn others or you can be burnt.

Think of all our sisters, the way

their bodies shriveled as the flames consumed them.

It certainly is lucky that I'm a third generation Pyrokinetic.

I'll never be consumed by cruel flames

because I decided to become like them.

Instead, I'll give purpose to the worthless

gravel beneath me by burning it to fuel my rise to the top.

Because that's what true happiness is.

Whatever you gain from living like that could never be called happiness.

Spout those empty platitudes all you want.

You're just waiting to burn. Ignorant fool.

Get away from the sister.

You've got a hero to fight.

He'll be the first of your friends I burn.

Sit tight and watch. You have to run.

Shinra as strong as you are, you still can't defeat Captain Hibana.

It's all right.

This won't go like it did the last time.

You fool. It seems you have a short memory.

A hunk of gravel like you doesn't

stand a chance of harming me.

There's no way to know until I try.

Seen right now. You really must be gravel.

So eager to lie beneath my feet.

My head spinning. Huh? What have you done to me?

It's called heat syncope. What's that mean?

Simple. Your body has been enveloped by

a miniature heat wave created by me.

Huh? This causes your blood vessels to dilate

and your blood pressure to drop,

which means less blood flow to your poor brain.

And that causes vertigo. After storming in

here and dubbing yourself a hero,

you ended up getting taken out by

a bit of heat. It's quite amusing.

Vertigo. That's all it is. I see.

Now you're saying this is all in my head, right? Huh?

What do you mean, All in your head?

Look at yourself. You can barely even stand.

Feel short of breath, dizzy and weak.

But now I realize it's only a delusion.

Looks like you're just trying to grin and bear it.

But if you'd like to talk about yourself and delusions,

why don't we start with the ridiculous idea that you're a hero?

Let's think this over. I'm dizzy in my head, so I'm dizzy.

For real? Well, hey, guess what? I'm a hero in my head, too.

This is absurd. How are you even standing..

Compared to the drills Lieutenant Hinawa put me through?

This is a stroll through the park.

Fine. Then there's no sport in burning

a man who can't defend himself. Come forth, Clematis.

I shall grant you a beautiful death

by my flowers, sister. After all this time.

Just shut your mouth and watch.

I might be wrong, but I think you're the one who's delusional.

Say what? Don't worry. It's your lucky day.

Has smack that princess to her senses. Man is here for you.

And what delusion are you planning to save me from?

You know nothing about me.

Oh.

Nah.

So your dizziness is all in your head, is it?

I think we'd find that a lot

more convincing if you'd stop falling all over yourself.

Damn it. Honestly, how can you call yourself a hero?

If you must close your eyes to reality.

Then I guess I'll have to burn off your eyelids.

Sakura.

That's a funny dance you're doing.

Don't you enjoy the flower petals? Mister, you have to stop this.

You could ask your God to make me stop.

Oh, wait. Could it be that you realized your God isn't real?

And for the record, neither are heroes.

That isn't true. If you pray with

all your heart, you can find real comfort.

There are people who have been saved by it.

You know damn.. Well that isn't real salvation.

Then are you saying that there's no such thing as salvation?

Sure there is. You outsmart others and exploit

them to your own ends until you've

risen so high that when you look

down at the foolish masses below,

you see nothing but gravel, gravel, impotent gravel.

And then safe in the knowledge that you're

better than the riff raff. You smile.

The only salvation I need comes from the wealth

and status I gain with power. How so?

You prayed with us every day back at the convent, remember?

All of us prayed. And what did we get as our reward?

The convent was a refuge for us orphans.

We were taught to devote ourselves to God.

I was probably the only one who didn't take it all seriously.

That day.

The other sisters started burning away.

Every last one of them except you and me.

They were all devout nuns who served

God far better than I ever cared to.

Don't you see? Kind hearted devotion never pays.

The fact that I'm still alive while those nuns

are dead proves that more than anything.

You can only get stronger by pursuing selfish gain.

And if you're hoping to find salvation without getting stronger,

why, you might as well ask God for the moon.

Salvation is reserved for humans. So by what

right does Gravel hope to claim it?

Princess Hibana. You're a victim of the flames,

too, right? Our cardboard hero standing again.

I know how you feel. At least a little bit.

Oh, the sweetest things in my life went up in flames as well.

You'll never know how I feel. The sucker, a blizzard.

This time I'll make you stay down

.. Like the gravel you are.

You will never keep me down. But the heat syncope.

I'll get up as often as it takes.

Convinced I can win every time because I have to help you.

Huh? Have you lost your mind? What are you talking about? Listen.

I'm about to lay you out. And that,

along with the rest of this. Is for your own good.

Well, if all you want is what's best for me,

then go ahead and burn already.

Lie down and let the flames do what

they do best. Does more than burn people.

It offers us warmth when we're freezing

and when we're surrounded by darkness. It lights..

The way. There's no such thing as

a hero in this wretched world.

It might be true that there aren't any yet.

But that's all the more reason for me to become one.

You're gonna be okay. Or else my name isn't.

But that princess who was sent.

Oh.

Samples.

You are so pretty. That's really amazing, Sister Ivana.

Thanks, Sister. Clematis. Look here.

If I put a droplet of sodium solution into one

of them, the flame will react. Watch.

Wow. It looks so cool. This one is copper.

Sister Sakura, This one's for you. It's calcium this time.

I also have potassium, strontium.. And a few others.

Is the wonderful to look at.

I know flames are incredibly beautiful, don't you think? Oh.

Sister Hibana. I want to be like

you someday. You can make fire.

Plus, you're good at science stuff.

Huh?

Hello, Iris. Don't hide behind the corner. Come out

and have a closer look.

Oh, careful. They might be in the shape of flowers,

but each is a burning flame. They can hurt you.

My goodness. What's going on here? Sister Hibana,

are you playing with your fire again?

Come along now. Everyone back to the chapel. All right.

Okay. Thank you, Sister Sumire. As for you, Sister Hibana,

your power is a gift from the great soul.

It's not meant to be played with.

What's more, if you were to wield

these flames carelessly, they could become very dangerous.

But I'm being very careful with them,

so it shouldn't be an issue.

And there you go, arguing again. Back

to the chapel with you. Fine.

Sorry, but Sister Habana. Am. You okay? It's just well.

Item.

To see those flowers again. Pretty, please.

Sure. I'll show them to you once

you get over your shyness. Okay.

The smell of burning bodies. The inhuman screams of the dying.

Searing pain. Anguish. Lives crumbling to ash.

Flames are incredibly beautiful, don't you think?

As if something like fire could ever be pretty.

Let's go. If we don't, then we'll only burn up beside them.

Oh. Oh.

As if a.. Power like mine could have come from God.

Fire comes from hell itself. So if I wield it,

I know what that makes me. And

a devil should act like a devil.

Hey, wait. Where are you going, sister?

Away.

Don't let yourself be burnt. Iris.

People, flames. Whatever I find, I'll exploit.

That's just a taste of my findings.

Meet my conditions and you get the rest.

First, I want the rank of captain.

Furthermore, I want funding and a lab

from which I can carry on my experiments.

Why do all this?

We children at the convent didn't have any parents,

but we did have our big sister.

She was beautiful and clever and she had mastered fire.

And when I was lonely but too

scared to speak. My hero called to me.

I didn't have anyone like that, though.

All I had to prop myself up were my flames.

And then I found out they couldn't be trusted either.

I don't have anything left now.

If you want a hero, there's one right here.

Just look to the skies and cry out my name.

I'll come and save you anytime.

But that's ridiculous. You're under no obligation to help me at all.

Especially not after what I've done.

But I don't have to be obliged.

If you say you need me, I come

running because that's what heroes do.

Whatever the case, you defeated me. So I don't

intend to fight you any longer.

What do you think? Did I overcome my shyness? A bit.

How is that even a question now?

I can't believe you waltzed into my base all by yourself.

Of course I did. I wanted to see your flowers again.

I did make you a promise, didn't I?

Their irises. Yeah. How do you like them?

I love you, sister.

What

Oh. The guy in glasses, he's a monster.

Looks like the eighth company has more

or less completely routed us. Must have been the lieutenant.

How am I going to explain this mess to the higher ups?

For that matter, what should I tell this spilled gravel?

Think Captain Obey had a plan. He was going

to try and set everything up to look

like a nocturnal joint training exercise.

But you flew in before. He could

lay the groundwork for that, right?

If you keep charging ahead like that,

you're bound to screw up eventually.

I think I've come up with a good solution.

What if we smooth things over with a fun

little dinner party between the fifth and eighth

companies? That seems a bit outlandish.

And yet it just might work. Aha.

There are times when the most ridiculous

ruses are the ones people are least likely to suspect.

I can tell everybody that to test

the fighting strength of Company five,

I planned a surprise att*ck drill asking

Company eight to play the bad guys.

Shinra. Would you mind rounding up the rest

of the eighth and filling them in on the new situation?

You sure are being cooperative now.

Well, yeah, that's because I've taken a.

. Liking to you. Uh huh.

Chief. I know it's ahead of schedule,

but we've begun our investigation of the Fifth.

There might be v*olence, so make what preparations you can.

Quinoa. You read me? That's right. Took time to set things up,

but I'm ready to give you some backup. Ha.

It's over.