Takehisa Hinawa stretched as he stood up from his bed. It was well after midnight, and he was in dire need of a glass of water. He put his slippers on and walked down the hallway to the kitchen in the Special Fire Force 8 Cathedral. As he passed a doorway leading to the rooftop, he noticed it was open.

Who would be up this late at night? he wondered. He pushed the door open and began heading to the roof. Whoever it is, I'm kicking their ass.

As he pushed the door open to the roof, Hinawa noticed a flicker of flame coming from one side of the roof. He headed toward the source and was surprised to see Maki Oze sitting all by herself, with her little fire minion Sputter flickering beside her.

"Maki? What are you doing up?"

"Lieutenant!" Maki jumped up.

"Don't worry," Hinawa said. "I'm only here to see who was up on the roof at this hour."

"I couldn't sleep," Maki admitted sheepishly. "So I came up here to look at the stars."

Hinawa sat down beside her. Sputter floated between him and Maki as they looked out at the sky together. He looked over at the little ball of flames and was surprised to see it was looking back at him.

"Why is your little fireball staring at me?" he asked Maki.

"Because by now you usually put it out," she told him.

This is true, he thought. He felt the little fireball get closer and closer to him. "Maki, if that little fireball gets any closer I'll put it out."

"Okay," Maki said. "Time to go, Sputter."

As she extinguished Sputter, Hinawa thought back to another night back when they were in the military, and he had an almost identical encounter with Maki on the roof of the barracks. He looked over at her and saw the stars reflected in her eyes.

Hinawa opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Maki.

"Lieutenant, do you remember that night back when we were in the military, and we were on the roof of the barracks?" she asked.

Can she read minds? "Yeah, I remember," he admitted.

"I was wondering… what made you come onto the roof that night?"

Hinawa thought back to a few years earlier. His friend, Tojo, hadn't turned Infernal yet and was still reading by the window when he'd headed up to the roof for some fresh air. He ran into Maki stargazing then, like tonight, except he was her senior and her father was the lieutenant-general of the military. "I guess I was just curious as to who was on the roof, same as tonight."

Maki smiled at him. "You give off the air that you're a tough guy, but you have a soft side, you know?"

Hinawa looked at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that you care about your squad members."

Oh. Hinawa looked out toward the horizon. I have been getting a little softer around the edges, haven't I?

As he sat with Maki on the rooftop, he realized that everything that happened tonight was playing out almost exactly like the disastrous scenario from a few years before.

"We have a bunch of paperwork to get done later," Maki said, breaking the awkward silence between them. "We should go get some sleep."

"Yeah, you're right," he said. Hinawa stood up and dusted off his pants. "Don't let me catch you playing with fire again."

"Yes, sir."

As Hinawa headed back inside, he realized his need for a drink of water was back. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass. He mulled over his and Maki's conversation as he poured his water and compared it to the one from a few years before.

At least we didn't try to kiss, he thought. He groaned at the memory of them trying—and failing—to kiss. God, what were we thinking then?

He drained his glass of water and couldn't stop thinking as he washed it. His mind began thinking of chores that needed to be done later that day. The squad was gone so much lately, everyone seemed to be lacking on the upkeep.

Hinawa placed the glass back into the cabinet and padded back to his room. As he climbed into bed, he began to think about how to approach Maki later on.

It's not like we tried to kiss tonight, he thought. But if we did, would I have stopped it?

He lay in bed for hours thinking, and when it was finally time to get up, he had concluded that yes, he would have stopped it because he was her superior. He rubbed his eyes as he stretched, relieving the tension in his muscles.

When he walked into the office, he noticed Maki hard at work already on the files at her desk. Shinra and Arthur were both sitting at their respective seats at the desk and were busy bickering. Tamaki must be with Sister Iris, he thought.

"Hey, devil, have you done your work yet?" Arthur drawled.

"Shut up, you idiot. I'm working on it right now."

Shinra pulled a file down from the top of the stack and stretched. "Where is the Lieutenant, anyway?"

Hinawa walked up behind Arthur. "Are you two slacking off on your work?"

"No, sir!" they yelped, Maki included. As he went into Captain Obi's office, her eyes followed him. He's still the lieutenant. I guess nothing changed between us last night.

"Arthur, Shinra! Let's go up to the roof and train," she suggested.

"Against you?" Shinra asked.

"I'd rather not, you always kick my ass with your strength," Arthur said.

"Who are you calling a gorilla cyclops?!" she yelled, slamming Arthur and Shinra into the ground.

"What is going on in here?" Hinawa said, sticking his head back into the room.

"I just suggested that they come up to the roof and train and Arthur called me a gorilla cyclops," Maki retorted.

"I did not."

"Maki, how about you and I show Arthur and Shinra how to fight properly?" Hinawa suggested.

"Alright. That sounds okay."

Shinra looked back and forth between Maki and Hinawa. "Are you sure that's okay?"

Hinawa adjusted his glasses. "I don't see why not. We are both former military, and she was my underling."

"Not to mention Maki has the strength of an ogre," Arthur said.

Hinawa held Maki back from attacking Arthur. "Who are you calling a gorilla cyclops?"

"Come on, Maki, let's go on up to the roof. You two, if you want to see how we fight, then feel free to come and watch." Hinawa walked off, with Maki following him.

"Lieutenant, are you sure you want to fight me?" Maki asked as she caught up to him.

"Is there someone else named Maki in our squad?" he replied.

"N-no but wouldn't you be better off fighting Shinra or Arthur?"

"If we spar, they can see how two former members of the military fight." Hinawa led her up to the roof, where they had had their midnight conversation just the night before. "Any further questions?"

"No, sir."

As he took his position across from her, he saw Shinra, Arthur, Tamaki, and Sister Iris come out onto the roof. He studied Maki's form. She's been working out.

"Captain Obi said that as much as he'd like to watch, he needed to stay inside and work," Shinra called out to Hinawa.

"He also said he has money on Maki," Arthur added.

"I'm not going to go easy on you," Hinawa said quietly.

"Same here," Maki said. She knew that Hinawa had the height advantage, but she could work with that.

"Ladies first."

As Maki made her move, Hinawa changed his plan from "lose on purpose" to "teach." He skillfully dodged Maki's first attack and made one of his own.

"Remember to prepare for a counterattack if your opponent dodges," he told Maki, his fist connecting with her stomach. "I thought you knew all of this."

"I do," she groaned. "I just didn't expect you to counter."

"You should always fight and expect your opponent to counter, especially me." Hinawa straightened up. "We're done here."

Maki groaned. She knew what he was saying and everything. She couldn't believe she had let her mind wander while they were sparring.

"That's it?" Shinra asked. "I expected more."

"Well, I made a mistake in judgment," Maki said sheepishly.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," Hinawa said. "You are perfectly capable of combat. It was me you were up against, though."

Hinawa turned to look at Shinra, Arthur, Tamaki, and Sister Iris. "It's getting late. We should all head back inside."

"Yes, sir!"

As the door shut behind Shinra, Hinawa looked back at Maki. "Did you let me win, or did I win fair and square?"

"You won fairly."

Hinawa looked at Maki's face and could tell that she was lying. "Don't let what happened between us last night interfere with your work, Maki."

"Okay, Lieutenant." Maki headed toward the door but stopped. "Do you think you can meet me up here again tonight?"

"Again?" Hinawa thought it over. Sure, but that's just asking for trouble. "Okay. I guess I can."

"Great! See you then!" Maki opened the door and headed back inside.

Hinawa sat down and stared at the door. "What the hell was I thinking?" he said out loud.