The Absence Of Light

Shouting. Screaming. Crying. Those are the sounds that he awoke to.

There was the obvious noise of scuffling in the living room. The bedroom was dark and cold, so cold that it stung to leave the covers. "What the hell is going on?" he heaved himself up, mustering the little strength he had. In the span of only a couple of seconds, he told himself that it was only the TV.

Ren must be watching something deranged.

Still, an uneasy feeling rose within him. Something was off about this situation, but he couldn't put his finger on it. His mind was hazy as he opened the bedroom door.

He winced as light flooded his vision, so bright that it hurt his eyes. In an instant, his worst fears came to life.

"Let go of her!" Ren pounded his fists against the back of a heavily equipped man. He grabbed a lamppost from near them and bashed it against the man, but he didn't even react. He was wearing some kind of protective gear.

Masao couldn't even speak. He was in shock, just standing there as he watched Ren attack the intruder. Captured in the big man's arms was a small girl.

"Masao!" she called his name desperately when she saw him, reaching her arm out to him. It was her strength that had kept her in the house for this long. The man and his backup were trying to drag her out of the underground bunker, but she refused to leave.

"Y-Yoli!" he yelled her name weakly. His slow, pathetic stumbles weren't fast enough to reach her, and the men were able to take off up the stairs. Ren immediately chased after them.

A few minutes passed. Then a few more. Masao sank to his knees.

Slow, sorrowful footsteps echoed from the staircase until his brother returned to the bunker empty-handed. They looked at each other without saying a word. He wanted to cry more than anything, but no tears would come.

I failed.

That uneasy feeling was clear from the beginning. Yoli hadn't been in bed next to him for a while, but he wasn't able to feel her absence or even notice when COT snuck in and grabbed her. He was so tired that he was oblivious to the world around him.

She was right there...and I still couldn't protect her. She was next to me the whole night!

He cursed himself for not being able to do anything, but he had seen this coming. Ever since he met her, he knew this would happen. Yet he allowed himself to become attached to her and to hope that they could be together. With Yoli gone, he didn't even have the source of strength he would need to rescue her.

"So? What are you going to do?"

"H-huh?" he looked up from the ground. His brother was looking down on him sharply. "There is nothing I can do..."

"Nothing you can do?" Ren scoffed, his eye twitching. "Stop crying. You allowed the girl you swore to protect to be taken from you, so now it's your job to get her back."

He didn't even notice the tears running down his face. Masao hadn't cried since he was a little kid- on the day that he lost everything. He stood up and wiped away his tears, nodding to his brother. Ren might be a weird guy, but when he was angry, he became a completely different person. His serious, piercing words were enough to give Masao the burst of energy he needed.

"Thanks. If you need me, just ask around for the JumpAHead request line...they'll send you my way," he said before he took the stairs out of the bunker.

He knew there were easier ways to contact Ren, but he didn't have time to leave his phone number. The JumpAHead request line was a secret phone number that was known by only people who were "in" with gang activity. It was a number that anyone could call to request a member of the gang to commit a crime for them. Most people used it as a hitman service.

The members of JumpAHead knew who Ren was, so if he called the line, they would probably give him Masao's number.

The ride back to Masao's apartment felt like an eternity. The only thing he could think about was her: where she was, what they were doing to her, how he would get her back. At first, it was just sadness that he felt, but it eventually became rage. He hated the thought of Wataru putting his hands all over her, dressing her in some skimpy black outfit, and isolating her from the world for his enjoyment.

When he got to the outskirts of Central City, he went straight to the marble gates and entered the city. He didn't know how he was going to get her back, but he was determined. He fought his energy-deficient body to stay awake. When he was finally outside of COT's headquarters, he stopped to think.

COT probably knew what he looked like now and would be looking out for him. He had never been inside their official headquarters, but with how important Yoli was to them, he figured that's where they took her. There was just no way they would put her in a protected facility. Wataru would want to be with her at all times.

He didn't have a plan, but there was no time to waste. He had years of experience with street life, fights, and negotiations to get her back. If he had to kill a few people in the process, he would.

Masao entered the lobby hesitantly. It was a large, open area that was well-kept and fancy. Everything was plain and devoid of color, including the large waiting area near the entrance with a couple of couches and chairs. A friendly-looking woman smiled at him from the front desk, and he stumbled over to her.

"What can I do for you today, sir?" she asked cheerfully. He knew it was an act because there was no way anyone could be that happy living in Central City.

"Where is Yoli?" he questioned straight away.

"Yoli? I'm sorry, sir, I have no idea who that is."

"Yes, you do! Y.O.L.I., the most innocent girl in the world!" he yelled. "I want to speak to Wataru Yamada."

"Ah, Y.O.L.I., you mean? I'm sorry, but I am not allowed to speak about the matter. As far as speaking with Mr.Wataru, you will need to schedule a meeting," she smiled falsely.

"Okay. When can I meet with him?" Masao pressed.

"He's booked for the next three months, unfortunately. If you are willing to wait, I can put you on the list. How does Saturday the 17th of May sound?"

"Argh! Never mind!" he slammed his fist on the counter and walked away. He couldn't wait three months to talk to Wataru. He needed to get Yoli back now.

There was no way to get past the lobby without a key card, unless he wanted to jump over the entry bars and risk getting tackled by security. He left the skyscraper in an even worse mood.

Masao leaned against his bike on the side of the street outside COT's headquarters, trying to come up with something. He was so stressed and tired that he could barely think, and he was craving a cigarette so much that he thought he might explode.

"Maybe I should just take a break...yeah, cool off for a bit," he nodded to himself. He couldn't get anywhere if he was so agitated, so he drove his motorcycle to the nearest casino and planned to gamble a few bucks.

...

A few bucks turned into a hundred, then two hundred, and soon enough, he was in the hole. His tiredness was almost just as bad as being drunk and caused him to get into a scuffle with a group of teenagers.

"Why don't we take this outside?" they laughed. He grunted and followed them out, with the last few wads of cash he had nearly spilling out of his back pockets.

Night already? Geez...what am I doing?

It was dark out, and the city was now lit by flashing neon lights. It was also raining, and the filthy sidewalks covered in garbage were now covered in wet garbage.

"Hey, old man, wanna taste a few blows 'a my fist?" one of the boys said. Before he was able to react, he was hit with a hard blow to the stomach.

"Gah...!"

The three boys started attacking him, hitting him over the head with a metal pipe and kicking him to the ground. His head was bleeding, and the blood dripped over his eyes until his vision turned red. His face was continuously slammed against the wet, dirty ground until he was reduced to a cowering mess.

The boys laughed, watching him cover his head and shake. His head was on top of the curb, but his body was sprawled out on the street.

"We should give him a break. He's just a stupid nobody who lost all his money," they laughed. They left when they'd gotten their fun.

Masao trembled against the cold ground, his body aching all over. He could barely breathe, and his heart was failing him.

I'm going to die.

The pigtails in his hair had fallen out while he was being beaten up, so the long strands of hair now fell across his face, making him look even more like a homeless mess. His blood seeped onto the concrete, matted into his hair, and dyed the newspapers, plastic bottles, and other trash around him scarlet.

Yoli...

If he was going to die right there, he wanted to at least feel comforted by something. He wanted Yoli to find him and worry about his condition. He smiled slightly, imagining her bending down beside him and helping him up. She would take him home and give him a nice warm bath.

She would comb his hair as they sat on the couch and bandage his wounds. She would make him a nice warm meal, and they would eat it while they watched old dramas together. Then she would wrap a blanket around the two of them, and they would fall asleep together.

He craved the touch that he had felt the night before. This was the furthest thing from that place...that warm and comforting place where she bared his frail, skinny, and undesirable body and kissed it so tenderly. To be near her again was the only thing he wanted.

- - -

The walls were white.

The room smelled like chemicals.

There was no natural light.

This was a place devoid of anything human. This was a cell to hold a prisoner, yet she was told to feel welcomed.

A large basket sat at the end of her bed. She sat up and started to look through it. There was makeup and hair brushes, along with necessary everyday things like a toothbrush. Was this supposed to be her welcome basket?

The door clicked open, and Wataru entered the room. The door shut behind him, leaving only the two of them together.

"How are you feeling? You aren't hurt, are you?" he asked with a smile. She shook her head, cautiously watching as he sat at the end of the bed. "I prepared a change of clothes for you, as well as this- but I see that you've already looked through it."

She looked down at herself, realizing that she was in different clothes. She was no longer wearing Masao's clothes. Instead, she was in a black mini-skirt and a black lace tank top. These clothes were a lot colder than the ones she had been wearing for the past few days.

"Where are my clothes?" she asked quietly.

"Hahah, I got rid of those. Don't worry about anything! I had a group of professional, very careful ladies change you," he said. She stared at him expressionlessly. Her last piece of Masao was gone. She didn't have a single thing to remind her of him.

"When can I go?"

"Go? Go where? This is where you belong," he said, his voice getting softer. He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arm around her. His movements felt cold and calculated. She wanted to push him away, but she was so afraid that her body could not move. Wataru's hand played with the ends of her hair, almost like she was a doll.

"Now, would you like to tell me about where you've been?" he said. This question struck fear in her heart. If she told him anything about Masao, it would get him in trouble. Wataru wanted to punish whoever it was that took her, but she wouldn't let him do that. Masao was her savior, and for that reason, she would not let anything happen to him.

"I don't know..." she replied.

"The men who saved you told me that you were staying with two men. One of them forced you to sleep with him, didn't he?" Wataru said. His eyes narrowed, and he slowly slid his hand onto her thigh.

"You have no reason to protect the criminal who hurt you. I understand that you are deeply traumatized...But I need you to tell me what happened to you so that I can act out a just punishment."

"Hurt me...?"

"Yes, the man who hurt you. Who is he?" his hand slid closer to the inside of her thigh, and she squirmed in her spot. Wataru was handsome, but his good looks were more creepy to her than anything. His slick black hair and dark brown eyes, accompanied by his black glasses, made him look like an evil person.

"I don't know who he is," she lied.

"Are you sure? He didn't tell you anything about himself in the time he was holding you captive?"

"No...I do not know who you are talking about."

Wataru sighed, removing his hand from her body. "Think about it. I'll be back tomorrow, and you can tell me everything. Some maids will come by to assist you, but please do not attempt to leave this room." he got up from the bed and opened the door. "You won't be escaping this time. This is where you belong, and where you will stay."

Her eyes softened as an overwhelming sadness overtook her. Wataru had not once used her name. He didn't know she had one, and neither did anyone in COT. "Wataru-San."

"Yes?" he answered.

"I have a name. My name is Yoli...please use it," she said shyly. He nodded slowly and closed the door, which locked after closing.

Yoli...the name that had been given to her by the man who saved her life. She wanted everyone to know that name and use it. She realized that even though she did not have any physical items of his, the one most important thing Masao gave to her was her name.