Fic dedicated for Fiery Ice. Waaaah! Fujima-kun! I've been waiting for so long to write one on him, but never had any clue what to do with him. Now I do! Hope you enjoy this, fiery ice! And everybody else!

            "Tents to the right," Rui Kontaku bellowed, following the arrow of her compass and pointing her finger to the west. "Make that space the control area. Send out scouts to confirm the safety of this region."

            "Already did, captain," somebody told her. "Reports say it's safe."

            "Excellent. Well then, let's get this done with and have an early dinner." She bent down to help a struggling threesome lift a heavy box up to the top of the hill. "What's inside?"

            "Supplies," a tiny girl answered her.

            "Ah, let's put it there then."

            The Rangers were at their third stop across the famous Genki Forest that stretched out trees for miles and miles. It was their annual activity, participated largely by high school students from all over the district. Its purpose was to test member's endearment and limitations, and to encourage cooperativeness, as any jungle trekking ought to trigger.

            And for the moment, Rui thought they were cooperating very well indeed.

            "Not again!" somebody cried out in anguish as the group of eleven people gathered around the fire that night. "The bacon's burnt!"

            The rest of the Rangers groaned along with their stomachs. Rui approached them with a visibly red face. "Sorry," she muttered, holding out the blackened food.

            "That's the very last time you're cooking, captain," they told her firmly, dumping the then-bacon-now-turned-ashes and pulling out fresh bread from their store. "We'd like to get out of this forest without food poisoning, thank you very much."

            Rui frowned sourly. "Get some bread out," she muttered the order. "Looks like that's all we're having tonight, folks."

            The forest guide appeared then after his customary security check around the camping area. The look he gave at the sight of plain brown bread made Rui crawl further into the blanket she'd wrapped herself in. He looked at her once and immediately understood. "All right," the forest guide, Ogami, sighed finally. "Bread it is."

            The rest of the Rangers shot a quick look at Rui, struggling to hide their smile. Rui gave them an imperious glare and the proceeded to bury her face in the material of her blanket.

            "Ogami-sensei," Minami, Rui's newfound friend, called out politely in an attempt to take the sudden attention on the embarrassed girl away. "You said a new group would be joining us tomorrow morning. Who are they?"

            Ogami looked absent for a while. Then he snapped his fingers as the memory filled in. "Oh, that. I'm told there are three of them – from three different high schools, if I'm not mistaken. Am I right, Captain?"

            Rui looked up quickly. "Yes, sensei," she replied. "They'll be arriving by truck in the morning. One is Hanamichi Sakuragi from Shohoku, Nobunaga Kiyota from Kainan and… and…" she struggled to remember. "And Kenji Fujima, from Shoyo." She thought about it. "Yeah, that's it."

            "Thank you, Captain," Ogami inclined his head as an excited ripple brushed through the rest of the Rangers. "There you have it. I hope you'll give them a warm welcome."

            "Of course!" Rui and the rest chorused.

            Ogami then gave a peculiar look at Rui. "Rui," he said. "When those three arrive, come along with them to see me. I'll be in my tent."

            "Oh." She nodded, smiling. "Of course."

            The new batch arrived shortly after dawn broke over the horizons. All of the Rangers scrambled to finish their breakfast to see the newcomers. Rui stepped forward to welcome them, and the others followed her startled gasp as three drowsy boys stepped out from the mud-splattered truck.

            One was positively the tallest person Rui had ever seen, with the reddest hair to be found on the face of the earth. He looked a bit sulky and yawned loudly. Then, noticing everybody looking at him, he grinned. "Hello! The Genius Sakuragi is here! Nyahahaha!"

            Everybody else paled, not knowing whether to bolt or laugh along.

            The other one was shorter, with wild hair and an even wilder laugh. He impudently shoved the said Genius aside and in a stance remarkably like Sakuragi's, he threw his head back. "Make way for Kiyota, King of Kainan!" he announced to the world.

            Rui already felt the edges of a terrible headache.

            The last one, on the hand, was stunning – in a guy sort of a way. He looked a bit abashed at being caught beside the two asylum members and gave the Rangers the benefit of seeing his quick, embarrassed grin. "I'm not related to them," he quickly said. "So I'm not dangerous."

            Rui had to disagree with that. His face alone was a dangerous tool. He must be Fujima. She spared a moment to glance back at the girl Rangers and didn't even bother to sigh at their contemplating looks. Still, she thought, if I wasn't compelled to be professional, I guess I wouldn't mind contemplating him either!

            "Hello." She stepped up briskly, putting a friendly smile on her face. "I'm Rui."

            "Ah!" Kiyota burst out. "You're the captain, aren't you?? You're so much prettier than my real captain."

            "Idiot," Sakuragi delivered a punch. "Of course she's a lot prettier. Maki's not even close to handsome, so how can he be pretty?"

            Rui turned slightly blue. "Ah. Well, let's go see Ogami then."

            Ogami welcomed them excitedly and in contrast to his instructions last night, he shooed Rui away. Puzzled, Rui waited outside, at the same time, ticking off the list she had in her hand of the morning chores. She was in the middle of telling a girl to go get water from the nearby stream when Sakuragi and Kiyota walked out.

            "Rui," the red head said loudly, apparently hot and bothered for some reason. "Ogami's calling you."

            "Ogami-sensei," Kiyota corrected bitingly. "Don't you have any respect??"

            Sakuragi sniffed. "Not for you, no."

            They walked away squabbling.

            Rui stared after them for a while, and then turned to duck inside the tent when Fujima came out. He smiled shyly at her, and something warned her that she wouldn't like the meaning behind that smile. "He wants to see you," he told her.

            Rui nodded, still uneasy. "I know."

            Ogami was seated with crossed legs on the PVC floor of the tent. He nodded briefly when she came in and motioned her to sit down in the same fashion. "Interesting boys there," he commented.

            "I suppose so," Rui replied. "Why did you want to see me?" she asked directly.

            Ogami looked at her for a while. "You always were impatient," he said fondly, and laughed when Rui turned red and started apologising. "It's not a bad trait when used properly." Then he turned startlingly serious. "I don't know how you will receive this news, Rui, but understand that I meant well."

            Rui turned cold. "What is it?" she asked cautiously.

            "We have a new captain."

            "Oh." It was said with some relief. She thought someone had died or something. Then, her eyes widened as the meaning sank in. "Oh!"

            Ogami watched as she fumbled with her emotions. "Understand that this has nothing to do with your incapability, Rui. You were a good captain and we appreciate what you have done for the team. I hope that you will take this professionally."

            Professionally. Right. "Who?"

"I have decided to make Kenji Fujima our new captain, and I have every confidence in him."

Rui didn't say anything, gawking in disbelief. But he's just a newcomer! Her brain protested quietly. I've been involved for TWO years and he hasn't even been here for more than 10 minutes!! How could he be captain??  "Why?"

            "Sorry?"

            "Is he better than I am?"

            Ogami thought about it. "Not really. You're both efficient."

            "Is he more powerful than I am?"

            "No, not all that much."

            Rui's lips trembled, but she fiercely controlled it. Her face turned pale. "Is it because of my cooking??"

            Ogami looked surprised. "Why, Rui –"

            "Does he cook better than I do??" she was starting to get hysterical. "Is that why I'm being fired?? Because I can't cook???"

            Ogami raised a hand to calm her down. "No, no. Nothing to do with cooking, though I do admit you need some practice. I simply think Kenji Fujima will make a fine leader. I've had excellent reports about him, particularly his leadership skills."

            Rui looked at the yellow PVC floor, humiliation setting inside her. "What's to become of me then?"          

            "You'll be his assistant. He will need all of your help."

            Rui bit her lips in silent fury. "Assistant," she muttered. "That's… nice."

            When she stepped out of the tent, Fujima was there, standing and looking (in Rui's imagination) as if he was purposefully trying to rub it in her face. Rui stared at him in an unfriendly manner. He looked more than a little uncomfortable.

            Then, realising she was being immature, Rui stepped up to him. She forced a smile. "At your service, Captain."

            The salute she gave him, however, was visibly stiff.

Was inspired by an episode from Sakura Wars. Ke ke ke! Fujima – captain, nothing new now, is there?