The Light Of Hope In The Face Of Despair

Chapter the Sixth: Safe Again

The minutes were turning to hours, and those hours were starting to turn into days. Nobody entered the room Mukuro was bound in, but a continuous buzzing prevented her from sleeping. She was sleep deprived, dehydrated, starving and slowly slipping into insanity. Her lonely mind had started creating visions to keep her company, visions of Makoto Naegi. She kept seeing him, but he never came close. He couldn't. He came and went, and she'd stopped being able to convince herself he was really there.

Makoto was worrying more and more. Sayaka was almost always busy, so he was more often than not left to worry about his friend. She hadn't been in contact with anyone at all, not even her sister Junko. The blonde had even threatened to rip off his balls if he didn't find Mukuro soon. Thankfully he had detective Kyoko Kirigiri on the case to help him.
"Naegi-kun, I found something." She said to him. He had been pacing around in the library, but now he rushed over to see what Kyoko had discovered. It was an email, sent by an unknown source to a known leader of Fenrir. It detailed a hostage, and that whoever had sent the email had no intention of letting the hostage go.
"Do you think the hostage is Ikusaba-san?" Makoto asked worriedly, reading through the email again. Kyoko sighed, looking at the dates. They seemed to line up a little too closely to Mukuro's disappearance to be a coincidence or something that can be ignored.
"We can't ignore the possibility. When we find out where this email came from, we will most likely know if Ikusaba-san is the hostage the email describes." Kyoko said to him, standing up. She handed over the laptop she'd been using, giving Makoto a specific order. "Ask Fujisaki-kun to trace where this email came from. As soon as he knows, tell him to contact me as well as you." She said to him, dusting off her skirt. "I would do it myself, but I'm very busy with other things." She apologised, hurrying off. Makoto sighed, heading off to the dorms with the laptop. That's most likely where Chihiro would be at this time of the day.

Makoto sat on Chihiro's bed, starting to get tired. It was getting late, but Chihiro was still working very hard to locate where the email came from.
"I think I found it." He eventually spoke, looking up from his laptop at Makoto. That woke him up instantly. He rushed over and tried to look at the screen. Displayed was a map with a location on the other side of the city pinpointed. "It came from an old warehouse, and I think I've got security footage of people entering the location." Chihiro continued, pulling up another tab. He started the footage, both of them watching the screen. A van pulled in to view, with a few people getting out once it had stopped. The men opened the back, taking something out the back.
"Pause it." Makoto said suddenly, noticing something. Chihiro stopped the footage instantly, with Makoto's face now inches away from the screen trying to figure it out. "Can you zoom in?" He asked, pointing at a specific point on screen. Chihiro nodded once, zooming in. They both realised at the same time that what had been taken out the back of the van was an unconscious Mukuro. Her hand tattoo was perfectly in shot of the security camera, so Makoto knew it was her. "I have to go help her." He said, immediately worried. He had no clue what they wanted with her, but he was certain it wasn't anything good.
"Its late, Naegi-kun." Chihiro said, stopping him in his tracks. Makoto looked back at him, an almost desperate look in his eyes. "You need to rest tonight. You'll be of no use to Ikusaba-san if you're exhausted." Chihiro told him softly. Makoto frowned and nodded, his shoulders drooping and a sad look forming on his face. "I'll forward this information to Kirigiri-san. Go rest." Chihiro told him, getting to work on sending everything he had discovered to Kyoko. Makoto's feet dragged on the floor as he walked slowly back to his dorm in defeat.

The next morning Makoto woke up early. He was quick to get ready, heading to the door where Kyoko was waiting for him. She had no expression on her face, but her arms were folded in front of her like she'd been waiting.
"You ready to go?" She asked, her position not changing. He nodded and stepped out his room, closing and locking the door. "Good. I've already figured out how we get in and out without much detection, but where they're keeping her if she's still there is another story." Kyoko told him, walking quickly. Makoto kept up. He didn't care what he had to do, but he had to help her.

When they reached the warehouse, they soon learned that they didn't need to be so cautious. The place was practically abandoned. That made Makoto worry though, anxious that they had moved Mukuro somewhere else and it would be too late to save her. They were both silent as they wandered around, Kyoko stopping suddenly as she heard a very faint buzzing.
"Naegi-kun, this way." She said to Makoto, walking in the direction of the sound. He was still able to hear it too, wondering what was causing that sound. It was loudest right next to a door, and Kyoko realised the sound was coming from inside. Makoto tried to open the door, frowning when it dawned on him that the door was locked. That wasn't a surprise to Kyoko. She quietly pulled a pin out of her hair and gently pushed Makoto aside, using the pin to pick the lock.
"Wow. That's impressive." Makoto said to her. Kyoko was silent for a moment while she focused on her work. She didn't speak as she opened the door, letting him enter first.

Light entered the room for the first time in days, but Mukuro didn't even flinch. She was convinced it wasn't real. She didn't even see Makoto, or the worry etched into his face. He tried to assess the situation, slowly approaching her.
"Ikusaba-san?" He asked, slowly approaching her. She looked up at him, a distant look in her eyes. Lights on, nobody home almost. He frowned when he finally noticed the bottom of her face still covered in dried blood from when she was beaten up by her kidnappers. What really caught Makoto off guard was what Mukuro did next. She laughed. Quiet, slow, but she was still laughing.
"I know you're not there..." she said lowly, her voice raspy. She was in pain as she talked, and it showed. "You're just in my head... Naegi-kun would never save me..." that broke Makoto's heart to know she thought he wouldn't even try to save her if she was in danger like this. He thought of what he could do to make her realise he was really there and he was going to help her.
"You know, I never told you, did I?" He started slowly, kneeling down in front of her. She was still watching him, knowing her previous visions of him had never come that close to her. He definitely had her interest. "You're my best friend, Mukuro." He told her. Her eyes widened slightly. Now she knew she wasn't making him up this time. He'd never called her by her first name, or said she was his best friend.
"Makoto..." she decided to use his first name too, blinking as her eyes dampened slightly. "You really came..." She was relieved and happy now. He nodded, relief flooding him.
"You're in safe hands now. Me and Kirigiri-san are here to help you." Makoto told her, starting to fiddle with the ropes in hope of untying her. As she was mentioned, Kyoko came in and got to work picking the locks of the cuffs. She stayed still, barely having the energy to move. "Are you thirsty?" Makoto asked, dropping the ropes now she'd been untied. It was taking Kyoko longer to pick the locks on the cuffs, so he had a moment to give her some water. She nodded weakly, watching him take the lid off the water bottle. He had to hold the bottle for her, and was careful to not spill the water down her.
"Okay. Let's go." Kyoko said as the lock broke, setting Mukuro free. Makoto helped her up, Kyoko supporting her on the other side as they left. She was weakened from the dehydration and sleep deprivation, but with the right care she'd soon be back to herself. Makoto certainly hoped so, at least.