Author's notes:
<>.
—I use this for dialogue.
—It's Kassian! —shouted someone in the crowd.
—Look!.
—It's him!
—KASSIAN! KASSIAN! —They chanted in unison.
A tall, well-built man in a navy blue suit and glasses appeared walking through the crowd. The policemen around tried to stop him, but after seeing his face, they apologised and allowed him access.
—Sir, you can't p-pa... —He pauses to look at his face, until. —Excuse me, come in. —He finishes.
He advances to the fire brigade and meets the team leader.
—Captain Kassian! There's a boy inside, we can't...—He interrupts him before he can finish the sentence.
—I know, I'll handle it. —He says calmly with a slight smile.
He extends the palm of his hand in the direction of the fire.
For a brief moment the sound turned to silence, and a wave of compressed air shot from inside the fire to the outside, extinguishing and dispersing the flames in the blink of an eye, leaving the black effigy and the still creaking and crackling timbers visible. The fire had dissipated in an instant, revealing the black aftermath of that fateful fire.
That's how easy it was to control an element of nature for someone as exceptional as a Rank Two captain of the Dakunaitos. Not for nothing was he called Kassian ''3 elements''.
—Quickly move, team two cool, team five stairs, top floor, team one with me!.-
The fire chief quickly gave instructions to all personnel present. He was a man in his mid-thirties. Tall, strong and with a powerful personality. He had worked with Dakunaitos before and Kassian knew him.
The fire had been extinguished, yes, but they still had to cool the entire building. The captain and Kassian slowly make their way through the rubble as the fire team followed closely behind them, watching all around them for signs of flames or possible casualties.
Kassian stops at a mountain of debris, raising his hand slightly until suddenly a light breeze blows all the burnt debris aside, revealing Yariel underneath, in almost the same position as when he was sitting down. Although his clothes were completely charred.
The fire chief quickly gives the order.
—MEDICAL!
He didn't want to think it but everyone feared the worst, it was very unlikely that he was alive. He set about taking his pulse, simply to verify what everyone thought.
BOOM, BOOM... BOOM, BOOM...
—MEDIC! QUICKLY!
<
<
—Take him to L'esperit sant —said Kassian, where there was a special unit for members of the dakunaito.- Tell them it's from me.
—Y-yes, sir... —He hesitates before affirming.
Then he understands that it is probably someone from the clan. How else could he have survived? Even so, Dakunaitos immune to fire could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
When assistance arrived, they were about to move him to a stretcher and that's when they noticed the animal.
<
***
The situation is under control.
The girl who was screaming for her father is now holding the cat tightly while being tucked in by some blankets from the restrooms. Her father, the owner of the restaurant that Yariel saved, was transported by ambulance, not seriously injured, he had fainted from the smoke. In a couple of days he would be out.
The media are gathered around Kassian. Everyone is filming and taking pictures, after all, he is a TV star and one of the visible faces of the dakunaitos internationally.
—He's very powerful... —People murmured.
—Kassian, for tv7, has once again saved people from misfortune, what can you tell us about the boy's condition. —Asked a reporter.
—I was just passing by and I heard the screams of the people, I couldn't pass by. The boy will recover. —He replied.
Facing the media and the people who saw everything, he had dispersed the fire and rescued Yariel. He took control of the situation without batting an eyelid, in a very easy way. It was amazing how simple he made it look.
The fire captain sensed something different. He was still amazed and watched the boy being evacuated on a stretcher.... He had seen something impossible. His clothes were burnt but he had no wounds, he might have been a dakunaito, but... Not burnt? It was quite impossible, even the highest ranking warrior in the clan could get burned.
He was inside for a long time and they found him in the middle of a pile of charred rubble, even his clothes had fallen apart but he... The fact that you control the element of fire doesn't exempt you from being devoured by it. That boy had understood the situation, he had saved a person who could double his size, it wasn't just a matter of luck, or that he hadn't been burned, we're talking that he had something different.
<
Kassian looked away from the cameras for a moment and noticed the fireman.
***
It was almost a day before Yariel opened his eyes. After doing so, he sees a completely white ceiling. A repetitive sound...
Beep, beep... beep,beep...
She turns her head and notices a wire running from her wrist to an electronic device. Then he understands. He is lying in a hospital bed and his mother is sitting next to him, asleep.
He tries to adjust his position, slowly so as not to wake her, but she reacts in a second and sits up. His mother was a middle-aged woman with jet black hair and brown eyes. Without saying a word, she began to touch him all over, checking if he was in pain.
—Are you all right?. —She asked him.
—Mmm y-yeah... I think so. —Yariel answers.
Then she takes a breath, some impulse and...
—What do you think you're doing, getting into a fire?.
It was partly to be expected, any mother worries about her child, but she was also a 'screaming' mother, so to speak. She knew it was only a matter of time before a row broke out.
She had seen the mobile phone recordings, they had become viral and trending topic on most social networks, not to say that one of the most famous dakunaitos was there.
The summary of the news was ''Crazy boy enters a fire putting his life in danger, has to be rescued by Kassian''. Pitiful.
—I'm sorry mum... —He answers crestfallen.
—Tsk...you're just like him...
Yariel remains thoughtful.
—I didn't want to worry you.
—Luckily you're fine, but you could have died, Yariel... Do you understand?.
—Yes....
—I understand that you always want to help, but you shouldn't put your own life in danger, who's going to save you?.
He grips the sheets tightly, clenching his fists.
—I'm so sorry. —He didn't have much more to say, he was right, not that he remembers much, but he knew he had been reckless.
His mother was always a bossy and shouty person, but every time he remembers an argument with her, it was impossible for him to contradict her.
—Ah... —He sighs. —The doctors say you've been breathing a lot of smoke, you'll be under observation for 3 days... I have to go home, I'll come back to see you tomorrow.
—Y-yes, don't worry, I'm fine.
—Behave yourself and don't be a nuisance. —He says to her in a blunt manner before leaving the room.
After she leaves, he goes back to lie down to try to review what happened. The last thing he remembers clearly was the fire, standing in front of him watching the flames. Then the memories become jumbled, unclear, and he has only flashes that give him a headache....
He brings his hand to his head and that's when he notices the bandages.
-What did he hit me with?.-
Maybe that's why he doesn't remember well. He must have had some stitches.
After trying to remember, it occurs to him to look at the internet. He glances at a small table next to it and there's his mobile phone. His mother knew him better than anyone else.
He starts looking for information about the accident and soon finds several videos on youtube where it is clear what happened. He can see himself, he knows it's him even though you can't see his face.
It is a video from the perspective of someone who was in the crowd. You can clearly see how he passes the police cordon and jumps through one of the windows.
<
It's as if he had a mental block since he stood in front of the fire, until he woke up in the hospital.
After watching some videos he understood that it could have cost him his life. His mother had reason to be very angry and to top it all the most famous Dakunaito, his hero since he was a child, saved his life and he couldn't even thank him.
<
He lay there, pensive, reading the news and watching videos from different angles. After a few minutes the mobile falls back on his chest and he falls asleep.
The hours passed quickly, soon it was dusk.
***
20:00 p.m.
Yariel is still in the hospital, two days have passed and during the last day he received some visits from his friends. The faint light of dusk passes through the window, bathing the room in an orange hue,
He is watching some children playing in a park and can't help but think how much they remind him of him when he was a little boy. He would pretend to have powers with his friends as they wielded sticks and made up incredible stories... They are precious memories, a time he holds dear to the depths of his heart.
Suddenly, while he is deep in his own thoughts.
—You got away with a good one, eh...—Says someone behind him.
As he turns around, he sees him.
He's totally surprised, it's the first time he's been in front of him and he's talking to him, to him. No, it's not just him... If he's there, it means he came to see him specifically. Kassian.
How many times had he seen that famous video from 13 years ago? How many times had he imagined teaming up with him and fighting incredible battles? He had looked up to him since he was a little boy, the most popular Dakunaito and one of the most powerful.
He didn't know what to say so he simply bowed slightly and thanked him.
—Thank you very much for saving me, sir.
—Well, you are formal, aren't you.—He replied. —You saved three lives too, thank you.
—What, me?.
—Don't you remember?.
—It's all confusing.—he replies as he puts his hand to his head wound.
Kassian didn't expet that answer so he remains thoughtful. After a brief pause he turns around.
—Tomorrow you'll be out of here. Come and see me.—He said as he turned away.—There's something I want to check. —He finishes as he waves goodbye.
He then leaves a card in the hallway at the entrance of the room.
<
What would a rank two dakunaite have to teach a simple security guard without the gift like him?
This question resonated deep within him. Every time he thought about it he felt his pulse quicken. As if his body knew something he didn't remember.
The next day it was time to leave, he thanked the hospital staff and continued home, his mother again reprimanding him in the living room of his house, next to his grandmother, who just watched.
He went back to work, back to his routine. But he did not forget what Kassian said to him. 'Come and see me. He kept repeating it to himself constantly. Until one day without further ado, instead of heading home after work... he takes out that card and after observing for a few seconds. He decides to stop a taxi.
—Where to, sir?. —asks the taxi driver.
—To the headquarters of the Dakunaitos.