Soon after being initiated into Hneev Taw, Nire became the talk of the tower. After the ceremony, Vam Lis instructed Nire to meet him in his office once again. When Nire arrived, they were joined with Captain Oda who stood solemnly by Vam Lis’ desk. Compared to the stoic man who seemed to breathe order, Vam Lis turned back into his usual carefree self and told Nire that she would be assigned into Oda’s group. The silent man bowed slightly in acknowledgement and although Nire was unsure of how exactly to respond to that, she bowed back because she felt it was the right thing to do.

“Starting from today, you’re one of us. You’re a proud and irreplaceable member of Hneev Taw. I’ll be assigning you into Captain Oda’s group because you two already know each other and he could use another lively, young soul in his group.” He then quickly added, “I want you to feel comfortable here with us, so please let me know if you need us to do anything to accomodate for you.” Nire nodded at his last bit, but started to laugh nervously thinking about what Vam Lis had said earlier because even though it was true that she had met Captain Oda before, the way Vam Lis put it, they were already well acquainted, which was not true. Nire did not really mind being assigned under the Captain, though, as she was more than willing to learn more about the quiet man. He struck her as an interesting fellow, as she probably did to him as well. The girl looked up at the man and flashed a smile to see if he would smile back, but he just continued to stare at her with his dull blue eyes.

Vam Lis shooed the two out of his office after they introduced each other formally and told Oda to show Nire around the tower. The two walked quickly in silence, neither one talking to the other. It was starting to make Nire wish that Kei had been around to start up a meaningless conversation. The girl struggled to keep up with the man, as his long legs helped him travel farther and faster, but the girl refused to speak up, afraid that she had upset him previously or some other time. Nire felt like she was running just to catch up with him. Thankfully this did not last long, as Oda eventually came to a sudden halt and turned around to look at the little girl who was clearly struggling to keep up. With his piercing gaze on her now, Nire shuffled even faster to stand slightly next to him. Oda could hear the girl trying to hide her heavy breathing. He began walking once more after she had caught her breath, but at a much slower pace. It felt a bit agonizing for him to be walking at such a slow pace, but he wanted to make sure he was not stressing the girl out with his normal pace.

After a few more minutes of silence, Oda spoke up. “I’m sorry about earlier.” Nire looked up at him but his gaze remained focused on the path ahead. “I’m not very good at conversing,” he said much quieter than his previous statement. The girl stopped in her tracks and bursted out laughing at the older gentleman who was probably feeling far more awkward than she. Upon closer inspection, he looked nervous and looked like he was squirming a bit under the pressure of leading this child, who happened to be the Carrier of the Eye of Fortune, around Hneev Taw.

“You don’t have to apologize. In fact, I’m the one who’s sorry for laughing at you.” Nire said after her laughing fit as she attempted to recover from it. “You’re very different from when you’re fighting and in action,” Nire brought up.

“Ah, yes…” Oda’s eyes seemed to darken at the mention of his fighting self.

“Do you not like to fight?”

“No.” Oda realized he was becoming bitter so he quickly tried to change his answer. “Not in particular, I guess, I mean.”

“Hehe, me too.” Nire looked at the man in earnest before continuing. “If I had a choice, I wouldn’t fight. But I have to fight to find the answers I’m looking for. Why do you fight, Captain Oda?” The tall man stood there towering over the girl who was aimless just this morning. When did she become so firm in her resolve? Seeing as the man couldn’t answer the girl, she continued talking. She felt more comfortable with the Captain now after discovering his true nature. “You’re really cool and really strong when you fight.” She mimicked the Captain swinging around his lance. “Thanks for saving me back then.” The girl smiled brightly at the man, hoping that he now felt more comfortable around her as well.

Oda’s thoughts were running all over the place, but he managed to say at last, “No, I...thank you. You ended up saving me.”

“Don’t mention it. We’re a team now, and you're my leader. I look forward to working with you from now on.” Nire stretched out her hand and Oda shook it. His hands were large and callused, but his grip was gentle, yet firm. He really does have a kind heart, Nire thought to herself.

Once the two had gotten more comfortable around each other, the tour of the tower resumed. Oda began to speak more confidently while Nire listened intently. Much of the tower looked similar due to its architecture, so it was very easy to get lost if one wasn’t careful. On the main floor, there was the grand hall and the dining quarters along with the kitchen. Going up from there was the infirmary and other health labs, above those floors were all living quarters for the members and Vam Lis’ office. As Oda showed Nire around, the various members all greeted her and introduced themselves to her.

After they had walked around the tower, Nire thought they were finished. She turned to try to find her way around the tower, but Oda cleared his throat and spoke up. “There’s more to see.” He then quickly added, “That is, if you would like to see the rest of the tower.”

Nire immediately beamed up at Oda, failing to hide her enthusiasm. “There’s more?”

Oda smiled faintly at the girl, not being able to show the same amount of excitement. “Right this way,” he said as he continued to walk. The little girl bounced beside him in excitement and he laughed a quiet, deep, throaty laugh to himself. Going back to the main floor, he led the girl down a dark corridor that was out of the way of everything else. At the end of the hall, there stood a lone door that was made of metal, unlike the other doors around the tower. Not even Vam Lis’ door was made out of metal.

“Don’t worry,” Oda said gently as he pushed a button beside the door and watched it open. “Come in.”

Nire cautiously stepped in after the Captain into a rather small and cramped room. What was this room used for? It was bigger than the closets in their rooms, but it was not big enough to be used as the main floor closet. It was also very out of the way and located in a secretive part of the tower. She was unsure if it was safe, but soon figured that if the Captain could step into it casually, it must be fine, whatever it was. On the wall next to the door, there was a panel with lots of buttons and switches. Oda skillfully flipped a few switches and jabbed at a few buttons and then a rumble could be heard. “Hang onto something,” Oda said a second after the room began to sink deep into the depths of the earth. Nire’s stomach began to hurl as she plummeted in the steel room. She could tell they were moving at an extremely high speed. She could also tell she was going to be sick after they got out. Her legs turned into jelly and she struggled to grab onto a railing in the room. Nire looked up at Oda and was not surprised to see the man, standing there as stoic as ever. She laughed at his near never changing expression and it made her feel a little better.

After a few more seconds, there was a loud thunk which made Nire jump, losing her balance again, and the door finally opened, letting the two out in a deep underground cavern. Nire ran over to the ledge the steel room let them out by and began to hurl. It was then that she heard a familiar voice that she wasn’t too fond of.

“Weakling.”

Nire turned around sluggishly, wiping her mouth only to find Let looking down at her disapprovingly.

“It seems like it was her first time in an elevator,” Oda said flatly.

“I’ve never seen anything so distasteful before,” Let scowled and turned away.

Nire was about to retort, but she could feel her stomach coming out again so she threw her head over the ledge and continued to let it all out.

Oda tried to divert the attention on the girl. “Are you down here training again?”

“Yes,” Let replied before furrowing his brows in irritation at all the noise the girl was making. “I can’t believe this disgusting creature over here was able to take down a Follower of Foom Lis.” He pointed his finger at the girl who was slowly recovering. “Fight me in the ring. Show me just how strong,” he caught his breath, “or how weak you really are. Carrier of the Eye of Fortune, you disgust me to no extent.”

Nire had recovered well enough to lash back at Let’s harsh words now, and her competitive attitude would not let her back down from the challenge. She cleared her throat and tried to forget her previous state and responded, “You’re on, Fire Boy.”