Because of us

"Cheers!"

Celebrations came from a group of men as mugs of beer clinked together. Night fell on the city, and people slowly trickled into the hideout. 

Masao was much too tired to mingle with the crowd, so he sat on the couch with Yoli. The couch with springs that stuck out of the cushions from years of abuse. It had been a long time since he was in an environment like this. He wasn't used to the chaos anymore, the nights he used to live for.

He dreaded them. All the talking he'd have to do, and remembering faces he could barely attach a memory to. Avoiding his notoriety was impossible. Among the criminals in the city, he was hailed a hero for the work he did in his teens. He'd rather avoid it all. His past was only causing him trouble and harm to the woman he loved.

"Ha-Ha-Ha! If it isn't Takeda, my pound-mate!" a quirky male laughed, each of his words separated rhythmically. 

The man popped out from behind the couch, rolling across the floor to kneel in front of Masao dramatically. Yoli curled her knees up, startled by his sudden appearance. Masao didn't seem phased. He watched as the man pulled a single rose from inside his collared jacket and thrust it towards Yoli.

"Oh, my! Is this for me?" she exclaimed with a twinkle in her eye.

"That's a-right-y, my lady~" he grinned. 

He was an attractive older man whose appearance didn't match his personality. In the dark, colored lighting of the room, his long, cherry-red hair appeared dyed with blood. Stretching with his smile was a dark mole. A straight nose and short, triangular eyebrows, with droopy, wilting eyes, built his familiar face.

She took the rose from him, enjoying the fresh scent. The man adjusted his newsboy cap once, twice, and a third time. Reaching into his coat for a second time, he took out two dice and rolled them around in the palm of his hand. Tossed them into the air- and caught them in his other hand. A 3 and a 6.

"W-O-W, a lucky girl! That's a winner 'n a bit for later!" he handed her another rose and gave a suspicious square wrapper to Masao.

"Cut the shenanigans, Satoshi," He griped, throwing the condom over his shoulder.

The man rolled with laughter. He stood up and bowed, tipping his hat like a gentleman. Yoli had never met such an odd person before.

"Pleasure meeting you, Ms.girlfriend," he said. "Oh, the pleasure is mine! And who might you be, sir?" he answered before she could speak. "Oh, who am I but a humble servant of the city- a playwright in the midst of a stormy sea, etching my noble vows of love into the hearts of supple young women," he spoke with fervor, holding his hat against his chest.

Masao didn't bother stopping him. He was on a roll.

"Why would a man bite a pear when the peach is within his grasp...! And who should forget the brotherhood shared between men who fought jagged and cleft to carve their names everlasting in the pages of history," he inhaled deeply at his last word, and put his hat back on. "I am elated to see you again, Takeda. How's the heart doing?"

A laugh he'd been suppressing surfaced, and he had to hold his stomach from the pain it caused. "I- I'm okay. You're the same as I remember," his eyes watered joyfully.

"Um, who is he?" Yoli whispered, holding onto his arm shyly.

"This is Satoshi. He's a part of the Child Safety Service, and he helped Storm and me a long time ago. I've known him since I was 12!" he explained. Satoshi nodded along and blinked repetitively. "I'll explain it to you later."

"How old are you, Satoshi?" she asked. Hearing that he was a part of some "safety service" seemed to warm her up to him quickly. He was pleased to answer her questions.

"The big 4-1!"

"R-really? You look young!"

'HA-HA-HA, thank you. I've always been told I have good skin. The women love to admire~!"

He was telling the truth, as the slight wrinkles on his forehead and under his eyes revealed. That meant he'd been thirty when he met the young Masao.

Satoshi plopped himself onto the couch next to Masao, and they started catching up. Satoshi was a civil servant working for the CSS, an organization overseen by COT. He would typically be considered an employee of COT, like Hajime. Not working directly in their facilities, but managed by them on a smaller scale. However, the CSS was not seen as an enemy by most people. They were the organization that COT cared about the least, so their dirty hands rarely affected the child welfare workers' activities.

He'd been tasked with locating runaway children, and one of them was Masao. When Masao left COT, he was not unaccounted for. They knew of his escape and wanted him returned safely. When Satoshi finally found him, he was living an exciting life with Storm. Satoshi couldn't bring himself to tear the two apart. He could tell that Masao enjoyed living with Storm, the man who saved him from the streets.

For years, Satoshi made routine check-ins on the pair. He would give them food, clothes, and anything else they may need. Masao grew fond of Satoshi and his games. 

The man had a way with children. It was his job, and he built his life around it. The only thing Satoshi cared about was helping people. Anyone he could, no matter who they were.

Even his over-the-top personality was carefully manufactured for that purpose. Nobody in Central City had hope for the future, but when Satoshi was around, things seemed a lot brighter. It was that personality of his that allowed him to speak with the children in his care, breaking down the barriers between them and allowing them to feel safe around him.

"About time for me to leave, Takeda," Satoshi jumped to his feet. The party was just getting started, but Satoshi had a job to do. "Take care of this idiot for me, will ya?" he said to Yoli. Then he spun into the crowd and was gone.

The couple turned to each other and laughed. "He's a weirdo!" she giggled.

"But somehow the normalest guy you'll meet here," Masao said.

The next person to arrive was Hajime, joined by an unfamiliar woman. Hideo refused to let them in, forcing Masao to check them out by the door. Hajime still wasn't to be trusted, and who was the girl he brought?

"What the hell are you doing here?" he questioned them, annoyed at having to get up to deal with such stupidity.

"A guy with a bowling ball head asked us to come. He would've barged into my home like an unleashed dog if I hadn't done something...you should get a better PR team," Hajime complained, scratching his neck.

Kei...Seriously? I can't believe he would let himself into Hajime's house, knowing the danger it posed to himself and Yoli...

He grimaced at the thought. He pointed at the woman next to Hajime, waving his finger towards her like she was a pest. "Who's this, then? Your sister?"

"She's living with me," he replied dryly. The woman scoffed and readjusted the purse on her shoulder.

"Whatever," he sighed, forcing Hideo to open the door wider so they could enter. He was somewhat worried about what might happen if they reported them to the SPS or if Hajime decided to take Yoli, but he was too tired to argue. He would deal with the problems as they came.

His compulsion to keep Yoli close to him persisted as the night went on. There were a handful of men who tried to hit on her, which bothered him to no end. All of their guests were flirting and dancing with each other, so it wasn't like she was the only victim. 

Hideo was also participating in casual conversations with the women, as he'd gotten drunk enough to stop caring what they looked like.

The man loved alcohol more than was healthy. Nobody else noticed but Masao. The yellowish tint in his eyes and the pain in his abdomen he was constantly complaining about. It didn't matter how many times he'd have a stern talk with Hideo about his health; he didn't care.

- - -

Hideo sat at the island counter, downing another beer. Two women sat next to him, giggling and making sexual remarks towards him.

"You're disgusting," Kaho insulted him, as she stood behind the counter watching the party from afar. 

She was guilty of supporting his alcoholism, but it wasn't much of a choice for her. If she refused to serve him, he would get a drink himself, which would cause a disastrous mess. His shoulders raised, but his laugh came out as a few strained grunts.

"Yer jusst jealous -hat you ain't in my bed, but these ladies will be~" he hiccuped.

Kaho backed herself against the wall, blushing. "I- I'm not jealous! You don't even know what's going on right now!"

"I do...an what's going on-!" he covered his mouth with his fist to muffle a burp. "Is you try'n ta control me...um...yeah!"

Arms crossed, she scorned him. "Controlling you is the last thing I'd try to do. I've let you get away with whatever you want for years, and you're still an ungrateful brat."

There wasn't a thought behind his eyes. 

The girls next to him left when the argument broke out, flipping off Kaho, who wasn't in the mood to retaliate. She was done with the party already, so she went to her room. 

What he'd said made her uncomfortable. How did he know she was jealous? A thought like that would've never usually crossed his mind. The first thing she thought of was Masao, whom she'd been talking to about Hideo since he came back. Had he mentioned it to Hideo?

If he did, he was definitely going to be receiving a fist from her shortly.

The door cracked open, and a very drunk Hideo let himself into her room, closing the door behind him slowly. "H-Hey! Get out!" she yelled. He didn't listen. He moved towards her like the undead. "What do you want?" she asked, backing away from him.

"We gotta talk!" he tried to grab her, but she was quick enough to push him away. 

He tripped backwards and fell onto her bed, the mattress creaking under his weight. She shook with fear, watching him squirm like a bug on her bed. With flushed cheeks and rustled hair, he was a mess. But his soft lips slid apart temptingly, as if the alcohol had forced him into the mindset of a pornstar.

"You don't need me...sooget -ver it," he complained.

It was too much to take in at once. The man she'd wanted for years was drunk on her bed, rubbing his face on her sheets. He slowly brought himself up, and the thick goggles strapped to his forehead fell to the ground with a thunk.

She wanted to grab him and beg him to take her, but at the same time, she knew it was useless. She had no hope left. It died in her a long time ago. The love she felt for him in her youth had, over time, warped into corrupted jealousy and lust. Their honest connection became limerance, and she could no longer look at him with the same eyes.

"You want all that!" he yelled, suddenly getting loud. He pointed towards the party, but she didn't understand. "Sao has it, so youuu want it...blech. I can't have just one woman, Kahoooo~" he wined.

Pathetic. He's disgusting, and so pathetic I might throw up.

In her head, she chastised him, regretted the feelings she'd kept inside. He was a player- a filthy man whore with an insatiable taste for all things destructive. His habits had made him into a ticking time bomb that could go off on whoever got their hands on him next. It was that idea that repulsed her, as he admitted that he couldn't be satisfied with her alone.

But those green eyes sought her soul. Looking deep within at the cracks that revealed themselves in her sleepless nights, the ones that only he had seen and understood. They marked her and pleaded for mercy. A cry from deep within.

"Put me out of my misery, please."

- - -

Masao was stretched out on the couch, his arm lazily resting across Yoli's shoulders. Next to them, Hajime and Natsu sat upright. 

To Masao, it seemed like the two of them hardly knew each other. They were too distant to be friends, so he wondered how they became roommates. When he asked about it, Natsu was quick to defend their shallow relationship. It became evident that she was the one steering the ship, and Hajime was the unwilling passenger.

They passed the conversation around the room, and as the morning hours approached, the hideout started to clear. 

He hadn't seen Hideo or Kaho for a few hours, so he assumed they'd had enough of the party and gone to sleep. Or perhaps Hideo had gotten sick from too many drinks, and Kaho was comforting him like always.

He had always enjoyed their antics, which reminded him of a married couple. Hideo regularly got himself into trouble. Whenever he was injured or sick, Kaho was the only one willing to care for him. She'd sit by his bed and keep him company as he withered with a cold, or rub his back while he barfed into the toilet from a hangover. It was sweet, and he saw the best in her come out when she tended to Hideo. The side of her that didn't try to bury her feelings under a pound of makeup, but was confident in her ability to ease his pain.

Members of the gang were more interested in Hajime than in Masao. It wasn't every day that two COT employees showed up to gang activities and didn't ​​​​​try to arrest everyone.

Hajime cooly answered all of their questions. He was smart about it, telling them only what they needed to know. Natsu was quiet for the most part. She listened to Hajime and nodded along, adding a "that's right" or a simple "mhm" here and there.

"You say you can't do anything, and that tells me you aren't ready for what's to come. COT is already crumbling in on itself," Hajime replied to one of the men. That caught Masao's attention.

When asked to explain what he meant, Hajime sighed. "There are split interests within the company. Most people support the way things are currently run, with censorship being the only form of government control. There is a growing minority of people who believe COT is not using their full power over the people."

"People seriously think COT isn't in control?" Masao asked.

"Not that they aren't in control, but they will lose control if they don't use their power correctly. Those men want to get rid of COT's free-for-all policy and start running some kind of dictatorship," he turned to Natsu, who was nodding along to his explanation. "I don't know much about the guys, since I don't work for COT directly. What about you, Natsu?"

She blushed, surprised that he finally acknowledged her. "I've heard talk of it around the office, but it was over my head."

He brushed his long hair back with his hand. "The tide will shift soon. It's a matter of time. Things are going to change permanently, and it won't be good for people like you."

The men were riled up by his remark. "What's that supposed to mean?" they shouted.

"Settle down, I was only warning you. The future is uncertain, but I believe we are the change. People like me, Natsu, Masao...all of you, you're going against them. Just the fact you're pushing back is a sign. Guys who swim against the current are exactly who they're scared of," he smiled self-confidently, and in a tone mocking the people who paid his salary, he said, "The world will heal because of us. They're not ready for it."