Into Fire

“Chaos” couldn’t even begin to describe what I saw.

People were running around, trying to escape the chaos. Smoke had already started clouding the area. My ears ached from the noise. Menders had started sectioning off a place for the wounded, which was steadily getting filled up. I searched the crowd of people who’d escaped, those in the streets and getting treated. Did I recognize that woman? Was that a child talking?

I couldn’t find them.

“We need a Mender here!”

Naoki sighed, rolling back his sleeves. “So much for my day off.”

He turned to me. “Don’t do anything stupid, Riku. I don’t want to have to heal your dumbass.” He ran towards the other Menders. I frowned at his fading form.

I can’t just do nothing.

I turned towards the building, nausea enveloping me. Most of the smoke was centered at one section of the building, near the sixth floor. The fire itself had spread to both the higher and lower levels at an alarming rate. That shouldn’t happen on a property as modern as this. If any Fyrementals had used their flames to stoke this, then even a rare Bubblemental would have a hell of a time putting it out, not to mention the time it would take to get there. In those minutes, any number of things could happen.

There wasn’t enough time to wait.

“Kit,” I said, “can you wait here for a bit?”

She gasped, shock covering her sweet face. “No, no, Riku! You could get hurt if you’re alone! If you go, I go.”

I sighed, happy that she felt safe enough to support me in this—and knowing I’d get nowhere by arguing with her. She plopped herself in my pocket, secure for the time being, as I navigated the crowd around the building. It wasn’t the easiest thing but, as a local, I knew my way around a dense area. It wasn’t more than a few minutes later that I found myself at the entrance and by then, I already had an idea. Whether it would work was a risk I was just going to have to take.

Opening my hands, I let the forever-tingling energy concentrate itself in each palm. Within half a minute, I had conjured two little guns. The guns contrasted each other: one a sunset gold, the other a starry sky. They were a familiar comfort in my hand—something I definitely needed, right then. They squirted as I squeezed their triggers. My grandfather’s words echoed in my head:

Nothing beats the heat like water guns, right, kid?

Inside the building was an even bigger mess than I’d thought. The power was shot but, thanks to modern architecture, the windows provided ample light. The smoke was thicker within, and I looked around for a source. With so many embers to choose from, I just went with the closest, shooting at it as I tried to avoid slipping on loose papers scattered across the floor—I’d never realized how many documents government officials had to handle. Thankfully, no matter how much I shot, my stores never dried up.

Guess water guns have unlimited ammo, then.

As I climbed the levels, the mess only got worse. On the third floor, I had to skirt left to avoid a fallen desk. On the fifth, I had to catch myself to avoid faceplanting into sharded glass—likely shattered from the force of the blast. But I didn’t stop until I reached the sixth floor. Since that was where the smoke had been thickest outside, it was the most likely place for stragglers to be. Every second I took was time that could be crucial to saving a life. My mind showed me the image of little Sayuri: bold, innocent, precious.

I ran faster.

Bursting out of the staircase to the sixth floor, I reeled back, shooting before I could process what I saw. The entire floor was ablaze, flames snaking across the floor towards the walls. Subconsciously, I backed away from them, my mind instinctively keeping me from being cornered—though that could have also been my fear. Whatever color they’d been before meant nothing as the fire clutched them. As I had on every other floor, I called out, but even I could tell no one would hear me in this chaos. The pollution in the air was making it hard to think.

No, I thought. Not yet.

“Riku!” Kit yelled over the flames. “We have to leave soon! The smoke is too thick for your person lungs!”

I kept shooting.

Slowly, the path opened enough for me to get somewhere. I searched the floor, praying that I’d come up empty—Nothing good could be in this blaze. A sea of pens and papers greeted me warmly. Maybe that’s all there was. Maybe it’s all. . . My eyes fell on a stray piece of metal nearby and I forged towards it. In under a minute, I was able to read the print on it: F-2.

The Teleporter’s plane.

“Riku!” Kit yelled louder. “You’re gonna get hurt, Riku!”

I searched the ground with new eyes and immediately saw more: a piece of deep blue here, a bit of gray there. Next to one of those parts was something dark that looked like. . . No, I refused to think about it. I tried to get near whatever it was, praying to anything and everything that I was wrong, but it was too close to the source for my water guns to get through. As I tried to find a way around that, my eyes caught on something that shined, and I went towards it. Putting out the flames, I gingerly grabbed the item in my palm: a hand-held object with a popular figure on its face.

Sayuri’s mirror.

“No. . ,” I whispered, horrified. “It-There’s gotta be something else. She has to be—”

Kit flew in front of my face. “Riku, there’s nothing else we can do here! We have to go!” Numbly, I nodded, gripping the mirror in one fist, one water gun still in the other.

Running back down was the hardest thing I had ever done. Weaving around was easier when you knew what to expect, but that meant nothing to me. Denial coated my thoughts, consuming me like the fire had. . .

No.

Over and over, my mind replayed what it saw and, no matter what I tried, I couldn’t make it stop.

Will it ever stop?

On about the third floor, I ran into firefighters. I told them what I knew: that the flames came from the sixth floor, that I’d tried my best to put some of it out. As I spoke, the smoke finally caught up with my lungs, and I began coughing. If nothing else, it at least meant that I didn’t have to explain further, and for that I was grateful. An officer took my arm, helping me escape the building at last.

Naoki wasn’t happy to see me with the injured.

“Goddammit, Riku! You had one job,” he scolded me, already reaching out with his powers to inspect the damage. His eyes widened. “Jesus, how deep did you go?”

I didn’t answer, staring at the mirror as my lungs tried to expel the smoke from within. The pain was but a small ache compared to what had been lost. That agony continued to eat away at me as I sat there: safe, sound. . .

Alive.

As if sensing my sorrow, Kit flew out of my pocket to hold me in a tight embrace. Her little paws clutched my head, ignoring the silent tears falling down my cheek.

Naoki looked up. “Riku? Are you okay?”

“I couldn’t find her.” My voice was desolate.

My mind, ever intent on torturing me, showed me every second of the interaction with that precious girl: her smiling face as she talked about going to work with her—

“Mommy!”

The way she beamed in joy as she looked at her—

“Mommy!”

“That is a lucky cat, little heart.”

Sayuri groaned. “Mommy, I told you not to call me that!”

“But that’s what you are.”

Kit cut through my thoughts. “Why would there be a child here?”

A child?

I looked around the area: the Menders smiling at wounded people, the wounded returning the gesture, pain reflected in their eyes. My eyes caught on black hair set on a sweet face. If my legs weren’t carrying me forward, I’d have fallen with how the relief hit me. It was like my world was being mended back together, one puzzle piece at a time.

“Sayuri,” I said, smiling at her.

Thank everything that she’s okay.

“Mister toy man,” she said back, sniffing. That was when I noticed the tears streaming down her cheek. “Where’s my mommy?”

Oh, no. . . “I. . . I don’t know.”

“Is she okay? Can you find her?”

I had never felt more powerless in my life. What good was it to have powers when you couldn’t save the ones who mattered? Why had Earth’s people been given such ability when we used it to cause tragedy such as this?

But Sayuri needed me right now, so I had to get her mind off of this. “Sayuri, what’s your favorite color?”

She blinked, taken off-guard. “Gray.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s the color of mommy’s eyes.”

Okay, new question. “What’s your favorite food?”

“Sushi. Mommy and I make it together all the time.”

“What are you learning about in school?” I blurted, running out of ideas.

She frowned, thinking hard. “We’re learning about the big types of powers that people can have.”

This was a good start. “How many main types are there?”

“Um. . .” Sayuri frowned. “Six.”

Good. “Which one is your favorite?”

“Fibermentals.” She looked up at me with eyes that should never know such anxiety. “Mommy is a Fibermental.”

“And what is your favorite animal?” I prompted with a smile, if only to keep the tears out of her eyes.

Sayuri giggled. “I like kitties!”

I smiled wider, in full improv-mode. “Ahh, I don’t have any of those on hand, but maybe. . .”

I held out my hand, envisioning the item I had in mind: the white tips, the belled collar. I paid special attention to the eyes—Those things had always creeped me out as a kid. . .

“A lucky cat!”

Handing it to her, I waited to see what it would do. It was pretty much impossible to guess what my toys did if I hadn’t summoned it before. It didn’t take long before the cat blinked its eyes, jumping out of her hands to curl at her sides. The bell on its neck jingled as it rubbed its head against her, purring. It wasn’t lucid like Kit, but still incredibly cool.

Finally, I had her smiling again. “Well, what do you think? Impressive, right?” I preened dramatically, flexing my muscles for her.

Sayuri giggled. “Yeah, Mister Toy Man! It’s amazing!”

Thank everything that worked.

I stayed by her side until someone came for her. I watched in sorrow as someone had to tell her that they hadn’t found her mother yet—but they were still looking. I listened with a weighted heart as they found a family member who could take her in for the time being. After several hours and a very long hug, I finally said goodbye to Sayuri, watching her form fade into the distance.

Goodbye, Sayuri, I thought. I hope you find nothing but joy in your future.

“Riku?” Kit asked, finally making herself known after hours of silence.

“Yes, Kitty Kit?”

“Why did the government building get attacked?”

I paused. Some people had mentioned ideas that the Taihen Advocates might be behind it, but I wasn’t going to say anything without evidence.

“To make a point.” That was often a reason behind such things.

“What point?”

“I don’t know.”

“But what about the people who got hurt?” She looked so sad that I just wanted to hold her and never let go.

“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Are they going to be okay?”

At this point, I wasn’t sure if I was gonna be okay.

I was quiet for a while. “I don’t know, Kitsune. I’m sorry.”

We didn’t speak for the rest of the night.