Part Three: Actions
"My god! How did this happen?"
Naaza's exclamation when unanswered for a few minutes, as he, Rajura, Anubisu, and Akio stood a few yards away from a blazing fire. The fire was slowly consuming a two-story house, which stood alone with a poorly built brick wall surrounding the perimeter. The flames were literally miles high in the night skies. Akio had led the Masho to a quaint area in Shinjuku; there were few houses built around there and all of them were small and in rather beggared shape.
"We don't know how it started," young Akio said in a timid voice. "My brother and me were watching television when suddenly there was a spark and then..." He shivered a little. "Taro told me to go get help but I didn't want to leave him but he told me to go and... I-I did. I ran as fast as I could and found you guys. You gotta save ni-chan! Save Taro!"
"Don't worry, we'll do everything we can," Rajura reassured him. His white hair was plastered against his cheek--it was that hot even from where they stood. He and the other two Masho could sense something within the fire itself. They had no time to lose.
Anubisu quickly turned to Akio. "I want you to call the fire department right now. Go warn the neighbors around here and help them leave. The fire might spread. Understand?"
Akio nodded, his face strangely calm and understanding. "Hai, Anubisu-san! I will! Be careful!"
Without another word, he dashed off, disappearing into the darkness of the streets. The Masho took this time to race to the house. The three changed into their subarmors and did not hesitate to enter the burning house with Anubisu in the lead.
Inside, the walls were covered with intense flames. A red haze filled the atmosphere and the air was thick with smoke. Naaza scowled as he covered his nose and mouth with his hand. He didn't wish to risk talking aloud because of the smoke and flames. :Let's hurry and split up. Taro-kun has to be here somewhere. Now let's go!:
Anubisu and Rajura nodded. Instantaneously the three split up, each of them heading off in a different direction. Anubisu easily dodged through the vehement flames, which seemed to reach out to him. He made his way into what was probably the kitchen. He skid to a halt as a burning cinder emerged from the ceiling and crashed onto ground, as if to warn him off.
Anubisu frowned but braced himself and leaped over the cinder and landed on the otherside. It was there that he discovered over by the corner of the kitchen, a tiny puppy trembling. It was small and frail looking, with beige fur covered in soot from the smoke. Its eyes were black and wide with fear. It was whimpering very loud.
"Hmm... Better get you out of here, ne?" Anubisu murmured as he scooped the dog into his arms.
***
"Taro-kun!"
Naaza was upstairs searching each of the rooms. Each room was being devoured in flames. He growled in frustration. *It's a shame that Rekka isn't with us,* he thought to himself sourly. *He could probably control these flames.*
The green-haired man rushed down the hallway once more to make sure he didn't miss anything. That was when he heard something cry out. It sounded high-pitched and anxious. A little girl perhaps? But Akio did not mention to them about a little girl...
Naaza decided to follow the sound of the cry. He entered what was once the master bedroom (being the biggest room he's entered in the house) and squinted his eyes. Everywhere and everything was just about covered in fire. The room's temperature was rising rapidly but it did not affect Naaza much. He continued to follow the shrill cries until he made his discovery.
Indeed it was a little girl. She looked no more than five-years of age, with short blue-hair and china doll skin. Her eyes were squeezed shut yet tears managed to trickle down her tiny cheeks. Her whole body trembled in fright and her skin was covered in sweat from the immense heat.
Moments later, she opened her eyes a little and saw Naaza. "W-Who're you? Am I gonna die?"
"I'm Naaza," the other replied as he picked her up. "Don't talk. I'm going to get you out of here. I promise you that you will live."
***
Rajura brushed a lock of his white-hair from his only eye as he searched the flaming house for any sign of Taro. He remained in the living room while the other two had gone off. It was almost impossible to see just a foot away, the heat becoming intensifying and thick. The smoke had gotten far worse but Rajura was determined not to give up. He would find that child if it meant giving up his own life.
How odd that just a few years ago, he would not have thought of such a thing. Just a few years ago, he was the Gen Masho, a powerful warlord serving the demon ruler, Arago, in the Netherworld. Back then, it was either you were to kill or be killed. Only the strongest shall survive. The survival of the fittest. However, this was no longer the case. Things were different in the Mortalworld. Times had changed. It was up to him to save lives and to make sure that innocent lives would not die.
“Taro-kun!” Rajura yelled through the heavy, flickering flames. “Can you hear me?!”
“Over here!” a hoarse voice called out from nearby.
Whirling around, Rajura sped over towards the stone fireplace. There he discovered some furniture huddled together before the stone structure. It was built like a mini fortress, to protect whomever was within its walls. But at the rate the fire was spreading, this would not last much longer.
Without any hesitation, Rajura threw aside the furniture and encountered a young man huddled against the fireplace. He was around thirteen with short, raven hair, pale blue eyes, and smooth, white skin. For some reason, he had not been harmed by the fire or touched by the smoke. He just sat there with his knees drawn to his chest and trembled.
“Taro-kun, come on,” Rajura said in a rushed yet moderate voice. He held out his hand to him. “I’m going to help you leave this place.”
For a few moments, Taro just looked at the older man’s hand, as though it was the head of a pit viper. Rajura grew impatient. He snapped, “Hurry, dammit! This place is ready to collapse from the fire and we have no time to waste!”
:Rajura!: It was Naaza hollering at him using the armor’s link. :I’ve found a little friend of Akio-kun’s and we just made it outside:
:And I rescued some dog: Anubisu added in a dull sounding voice. :Hurry and find that Taro kid and get out of there!:
Cursing under his breath, Rajura gave Taro no time to answer. He simply lifted the boy and had his face against his shoulder so he could not easily breathe in the smoke. He was rather surprised how light the boy weighed.
Suddenly the ceiling finally began to cave in and a fiery explosion boomed before him. Rajura did not waste another moment. Backing away from the ceiling, he made sure Taro was bundled in his arms before turning towards a window near the fireplace. Without hesitating the former Gen Masho leaped back and crashed through the window just as the ceiling broke apart and slammed into the living room. Rajura rolled onto the ground and quickly stood up, breathing heavily the fresh air outside. He then raced a safe distance away from the flaming house-mainly back onto the deserted streets.
“Rajura!”
Turning around slowly, Rajura found his two friends rushing towards him. Along with them were a little girl and a puppy. Anubisu exclaimed, “Is that Taro-kun?”
“Ni-chan!” the little girl, whose name was Wakabi, squealed in delight. “Thank goodness you’re safe!” She looked up at Rajura and bowed. “Thank you for saving my brother’s life, mister.”
Taro smiled weakily. “Onee-chan! You’re alive! That’s good.”
The puppy barked and wagged his tail. In the background, the sound of sirens was heard screaming frantically. A couple of fire trucks and an ambulance were seen zooming down the streets. The fire trucks and the fire fighters came out to dispose of the fire. The Masho watched in intrigue as the fire fighters used the long houses to spray out water upon the flames that consumed most of the house. While that was going on, the medics rushed over to them and the children.
One of the medics, a man, rounded Wakabi, the puppy, and Taro together. Another then stood in front of the Masho. “Sirs! Let’s check you out and see if you need any…”
Naaza shook his head. “We don’t need medical attention. We are fine, thank you. Will the children be all right?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out. A little boy managed to make his way to a house with a phone and apparently informed the family living there what was going on. From there we were told and rushed to the scene right away.” The man looked over at his associate for a moment before turning back to the Masho. “Excuse me, but we had better take them to the hospital for treatment!”
With that he dashed off into the ambulance while the other man went into the back of the vehicle with the two children and their pet. The doors were closed shut and soon the ambulance sped down the streets once more, heading back into the city.
The three Masho simply stood together in silence, watching from afar as the fire fighters put out the deadly flames.