On his first day with Special Fire Force Company 8, Shinra Kusakabe, a third-generation pyrokinetic who is able to produce flames from his feet, meets his fellow company members and begins to fulfil his wish of becoming a hero.

Arthur Boyle, the self-professed "Knight King," arrives at Company 8, and immediately, there are tensions between him and Shinra. With the Rookie Games coming up, Hinawa wants to see what the two new recruits are really capable of.

Shinra and Arthur compete in the Rookie Fire Soldier Games, a contest to test the abilities of each year's newest recruits. However, they are interrupted at the goal by the mysterious man who created explosions at their last fire scene.

A call mistakenly comes in to Company 8 to rescue a dog out of a tree, to which Shinra and Arthur respond. However, when an Infernal suddenly appears at the district courthouse, the two must play catch-up to join the rest of the company.

While jogging, Shinra inadvertently disturbs Iris' purification rite, and sees that she is troubled. When Iris later turns up missing, the other members of Company 8 rally to Company 5's compound, to which Iris had secretly slipped away.

Shinra confronts Hibana in an attempt to rescue Iris, and must once again deal with her ability to make his body shut down. The story of Hibana and Iris's youth as orphans, as well as Hibana's rise to prominence, is revealed.