“C’mon sleepyhead!  We have to get moving!” 

Stirring sleepily, Kayla looks up in the direction of the voice, smiling warmly as she sees him.  Takahiro.  His black hair curling wildly about his head, clearly he hadn’t run a brush through the locks yet.  “I’m uuuup.  Jeez.  Calm down.”  She mutters as she playfully swats at his knee, laughing when he reaches over to tickle her sides.

“Can you blame me?!  It’s gorgeous outside.”  He replied with a chuckle as he stretched, his hand brushing the top of the tent above them.  They had gone camping, the first trip they had gone on together in a long time.  It was their first morning together, having arrived later the night before.  “Let’s go hiking or something!” 

Laughing at his excitement she slowly sat up, rubbing her hand through her hair as she yawned, her own black hair sliding silkily through her fingers.  Pushing him aside as he grins, moving to tickle her again, she laughed and shook her head, protesting that she needed to get dressed.

Despite his best efforts, they both emerged from the tent dressed and ready.  As Kayla sat down on the picnic table to tighten her hiking boots, Takahiro slid some water bottles into their backpack, slinging it onto his back.  “I’ve grabbed a knife, some rope, matches, a couple granola bars and some water.  Do we need anything else?”  He murmured, turning his dark eyes up to the woman in front of him.

“Maybe just a couple of those bandanas.  It might get really hot so we could wet them in a stream or something to keep us cool.”  She replied as she stretched, bending her leg back so she could grab her foot, tugging out her muscles which protested faintly at sleeping on the ground.  Watching him dart off, she couldn’t help but watch him with a happy smile. 

They had been together for only a few months while he was touring with his band One Ok Rock, so they hadn’t had a lot of time together.  But when they did manage to carve out time for each other Kayla treasured it more than anything.  And when Takahiro had called her saying they were going camping, she dropped everything and packed.  Takahiro had also been excited, showing up to her house with the biggest grin she had seen on his face in a while and nearly dragged her out of the house. 

They spent their first night together wrapped in each other’s arms, merely enjoying the closeness they had been deprived of the past few weeks.  And now, seeing him run around in excitement Kayla couldn’t help but smile warmly as she tugged her hair back into a high ponytail.  As she did so, a sudden sound behind her caught her attention, as if a twig had been snapped.  “Taka…?”

“Yea babe?”  He replied, from the opposite direction of the sound, his hands busy with tugging a beanie onto his hair.  “Everything okay?”

Relief washed through her, though she was unsure why.  “Yea I’m fine.  Just though I heard something.”  Smiling up at him, she walked over and slid her arm through his.  “Let’s go.”

They set off, but not before Kayla ensured their tent was zipped up tightly.  Laughing at everything and nothing, they slowly made their way up the mountain, relishing the time they finally had to share.  Around noon they stopped for lunch by a small stream, sitting down on a blanket in a beam of sunlight.  Flopping down on the ground, Takahiro dramatically fanned himself with his hand.  “Jeeeeez!  You’d think I’ve never moved before!”

“Well, hopping around on stage is a lot different from hiking a mountain, you dork.”  Kayla grinned as she dug out their sandwiches from their pack, handing him one before stretching out beside him on her stomach.  “How has your tour been going, by the way?”  She mused as she unwrapped her sandwich, picking off a piece of bread to munch on it.

“It’s going great, but I don’t want to talk about thaaaat.  I always talk about that.  I just want to be with you.”  He smiled softly as he rested his arm across her back, gently rubbing his palm on her lower back as his eyes softened.  “Are you having a good time?”

“A great one!”  She cooed, covering to hide her chewing.   Humming absently to herself, she couldn’t help but be startled when Taka suddenly stiffened and looked intently into the woods.  “What’s going on?”

“I heard something…” He muttered under his breath, slowly sitting up, his sandwich forgotten in his hand. 

A trickle of cold fear wiggled up her spine, pooling in her stomach.  Swallowing as she tried to hide her fear, she tilted her head and looked up at him as she tried to take another bite of her sandwich.  “What did it sound like?”

“Like… a twig snapped.  Close.”

“Well, we are in the woods, Taka.”  She grinned cheekily, trying to ignore her own instincts warning her to get up and run.  “There are these magical things called squirrels.”

“It sounded bigger than a squirrel, babe.”  He murmured as he looked down at her, wrapping his lunch back up in the plastic wrap.  “Let’s keep moving.”

As she nodded and stood up, she couldn’t help but notice that the birdsong and chittering of animals had all but stopped entirely.  The grove they were in was eerily quiet, which did not help her own urge to run.  “I’m just going to wet the bandanas, okay?”  Forcing an easy smile onto her lips, she untied hers from around her neck and tugged his from his back pocket.  “Can you pack up the blanket?”

Nodding while his eyes never left the small copse of trees ahead of them, he moved robotically to pack up their things.  Stepping over to the stream, Kayla crouched to dip the cloths into the cool water, wringing the majority of the water out so they weren’t sopping.

That’s when they came.

“KAYLA!”  Takahiro screamed, causing her to whirl around in shock.  A large man stood behind him, pinning the singer’s arms behind his back and pressing a knife to his throat while his fleshy lips parted in a cruel grin.  “RUN, KAYLA!”

“Taka!!” She screamed, but did as she was bid.  Jumping up and grabbing their pack, she ran through the woods, tears streaming down her cheeks.  Blindly she dug through the bag as she darted through the woods, hearing the thundering of footsteps behind her.  Right as her hand gripped the hilt of the small knife they had in their bag, a hand grabbed her waist and spun her around.  Blindly she slashed, and she was rewarded with a cry of pain from her assailant, but his hand only tightened as he yanked her to his chest, yanking the knife from her hand.

A foul smell, like rotting garbage, filled her senses as she was pressed to a broad, sweaty chest.  Screaming wildly, she began kicking her feet as she struggled to free herself from his grip.  “Hold still, ya .  Or we’ll gut yer little boyfriend up there.”  He snarled in her ear, causing her to shudder in revulsion.  The man hauled her back up through the trees, cursing as she still kicked and clawed trying to free herself.

“Kayla!!  My god… they got you!”  Takahiro’s voice, thick with terror and fear, caught her attention.  Looking up, she let out a strangled groan as she saw his current state.  One eye was swollen almost completely shut, and the hair on one side of his head was matted down with blood.  He had been forced to his knees, his hands tied behind his back and his good eye was staring desperately at her.  “Are you okay? Are you hurt?!”

“I’m f-fine, Taka…” She rasped out, her voice stuck in as she stared at his forlorn figure.  “I got one swipe in.”  Jerking her head toward her assailant, who was bleeding from a deep cut on his cheek, a sharp bark of laughter came from Takahiro before he was kicked roughly to the ground.  “Taka!”

“Keep running yer mouth, .  And we’ll see how pretty he is after a few more!”  The man at Takahiro’s throat snarled, the toe of his boot pressing down on Taka’s pale skin, causing a gasp to tear free from his swollen lips.

“No!  Please!  Don’t!  I’ll be quiet I swear just please don’t hurt him!” She sobbed in terror, wanting desperately to run to him, but knew better and just remained limp in the man’s tight grip.

“That’s a good girl.  Let’s get movin’.  It’s still light out, people may come.  Grab their .”  The man holding her tightly growled, gesturing toward the blanket and bottles still resting by the water’s edge, half folded.  Their bag he tossed toward his companion, and leaving Taka prone on the ground, he quickly stuffed their belongings inside before shouldering the pack.  With a thoughtless grunt he picked up Taka and tossed him over his over shoulder carelessly, ignoring as he gasped out in pain.  “And ya’ll do well to keep yer own mouth shut, ya’ hear me?”  He snarled, jabbing Taka’s chin with the of the knife he had taken from Kayla.  “Otherwise the girl won’t look as pretty as she do now.” 

Takahiro’s good eye locked desperately onto Kayla’s, and tears filled her eyes.  With one hand she reached out and gently touched his cheek, biting her lip to keep from crying.  The man allowed them to stay for a moment, before jerking her away and forcing her forward, the knife pointed at her back.  “Move.”  He snapped, marching behind her.

They walked for what felt like hours, until silent tears streamed down Kayla’s face from sheer exhaustion.  The sun had long since set, and she was shivering madly in the cold.  “P-Please… Please are we almost there?  I’m so cold…” She whispered, looking desperately up at the man behind her, who had walked in sullen silence.  Takahiro, who was now also walking, looked up at her sharply, concern written clearly over his face, his hands still bound behind him.

“Yea yea, we’re here.  Quit yer whinin’.”  He growled, before leading them into a small clearing.  A tiny cottage sat on one edge of the field, and a few chained dogs were pacing restlessly off to the eastern side of it.  When they saw the group approaching, at first they growled at Kayla, but one sharp word from the man behind Takahiro caused them to whimper and roll onto their backs, showing their bellies.  “Get over there.”  He snapped, pointing toward a leveled area clear of debris.

Stiffly the pair walked over to the clearing, and Kayla couldn’t help but whimper.  Buried deeply in the ground, was a cage, wrought metal bars covered in rust.  A thin pile of rags sat on one side of the round cage, and a small grate on the top clearly showed they were to be dropped inside.  “N-No please!”  She began, only to be smacked sharply across the face.

“What did I say about talkin’, !?”  He snarled, tearing open the cage.  “I was gonna leave yer face pretty but you pushed my last nerve.  Get inside!”  He pointed to the grate, his eyes blazing cruelly.

Despite having his arms tied behind him, Takahiro knelt quickly beside Kayla and inspected her cheek.  A shallow cut decorated the flesh now, a thin trickle of blood oozing down.  “C’mon babe… we should do what he says.  At least we won’t be walking anymore…”  He whispered, his voice raspy and shaky from exhaustion and lack of water. 

Nodding, she slowly stood up, pressing herself to his chest for a moment before the man grabbed her arm and yanked her to the grate.  Gripping her wrists, he lowered her down before dropping her, a jolt of pain rising from her feet up to her knees from the sudden drop.  Staggering to the side, the man cut Takahiro’s binds and also grabbed his wrists, ignoring the cries of pain from the abused flesh and dropping him in as well.

Once they were both inside, the gate was shut and a lock was shoved through.  Their pack was dropped in, once they were sure there wasn’t another knife inside, as well as an additional water bottle.  A tarp was then tugged halfway over the grate to hide it from planes, and the men left without so much as a word.

Wordlessly Kayla dove over to Takahiro’s side, inspecting the mat of blood caking his hair to his face.  “A-Are you okay…?”  She whispered softly, her eyes welling with tears as she took inventory of the rest of his bruises.

“I’ll live.  Are you okay?”  He gently raised his hands to capture hers, holding the small hands within his long fingers.  Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she finally gave in to what had happened to them, and she doubled over into sobs.  Takahiro made a soft sigh of agreement and pulled her into his lap, ignoring how his muscles protested the movements.  “I’ll get us out of here, I promise… At least we have protection from the rain, somewhere to sleep, and a little food… We’ll be okay right now I promise.”

Nodding tearfully, she pulled off her bandana from around her neck, grabbing his and a bottle of water.  Ignoring his protests to save the water, she wet them both and gently wrapped them around his bruised and raw wrists, biting her lip faintly.  Together they then gathered up their scattered supplies and carried them to the small pile of rags, sitting down upon it.  Wrapping Kayla up in his arms, he buried his face into her neck and held her close as she dissolved into tears again, hugging his arm tightly to her as if he was her last lifeline.  Soon, however, they both fell asleep from exhaustion, tightly clinging to one another.

The next few days passed uneventfully.  The men rarely appeared at their cages except to drop down a few more bottles of water and a box of crackers.  However, one day they arrived and carefully lowered down a bucket of soapy water and a wash cloth.  “Wash.”  The one Kayla had cut grunted, pointing to her.

“Why should she…?”  Takahiro asked darkly, pushing her behind him as if to hide her from their gaze.

“Don’t worry about it.  She just needs to be pretty.”  He grinned at this moment, a disgusting display of half rotten teeth, his eyes glinting cruelly as his companion raised the rope, leaving the bucket below.  “If she ain’t clean in about 10 minutes, we’ll wash her ourselves.”

Inhaling sharply in outrage, Kayla gripped his hands tightly and shook her head.  “I-I’ll wash…”  She whispered, glaring up at the men before taking the bucket shakily in one hand and scurrying back behind Takahiro.

When the men didn’t move, instead leering at the girl from the edge of the pit, Takahiro snarled.  “If you think I’ll let you watch her you have another thing coming!”   Grabbing her wrist he quickly brought her over to the pile of rags, digging around until he found a large blanket and the rope that was in their pack.  Stringing the rope up between a few of the bars, he draped the blanket over and looked down at her with a soft expression.  “I-It’s the best I can do…” He whispered apologetically, holding the corner of the blanket so she can go inside.

A small smile curled her lips as she nodded at him, stepping inside the makeshift shower, hearing rather than seeing the men grumble in frustration from the lack of a show.  Quickly she stripped herself down and scrubbed herself as best as she could with the washcloth and rapidly cooling water.  Once her body was cleaned enough she dumped the water over her head and scraped her scalp clean, shivering now at the water on her skin.

“T-Taka is there s-something I can use as a t-towel…?”  She whispered, poking her head around the curtain to see him standing there, his back to the blanket as if he were guarding her.  When he turned around, he had another small bundle in his arms, his eyes full of rage.

“Here.”  He muttered, shaking out the bundle to show a towel and a white dress.  Handing both to her, he hissed through his teeth as he saw the confusion in her eyes.  “They said they needed you to look pretty… and left this for you.”

Taking the dress in her hand, she bit her lip and swallowed hard, nodding.  “O-Okay.”  She replied before scurrying back inside, drying off and tugging the dress on over her form.  After a moment she stepped aside, quickly plaiting her dark hair into a thick braid to hang down her back.  Grabbing up the soaked towel she gently wiped the now dried blood from the side of his face, staring up at him.  “I’m scared, Taka…”  She whispered as she picked the blood from his skin, revealing the extent of his bruises.

“I know… I am too.  I don’t like how they’ve cleaned you up and put you in a dress.”  His voice was soft as he watched her gentle hands sweep over his pained flesh, sacrificing one of their water bottles to rinse the bandanas from around his wrists and wipe the muck off his arms and face. He had long since stopped arguing with her, knowing that if she wanted to do something, she would do it without question.  That thought both comforted and terrified him.

“Okay, she’ll do.  Get over here, girl.” 

They glanced up to see the men standing there, this time with another man dressed neatly in a suit, but his lip curled in a predatory grin as he stared down at Kayla.  Leaning close to the man she cut, he whispered something neither Takahiro nor Kayla could hear.  “Ahhhh… our friend wants to meet ya, girl.  C’mere.”  Lowering the rope again, this time there was a loop in the bottom, clearly intending for her to step into. 

“No thank you.”  She murmured, holding close to Takahiro and staring at the rope like it was poison. 

“It wasn’t a request.”  The second man growled, staring at her with rage filled eyes.  “Get. Over. Here.”

“No!”  She cried, her voice echoing throughout the glen.

“It seems you don’t get the desperation of the situation, young lady.”  The well-dressed man replied in a smooth as honey voice, one that gave disgusting chills up her spine.  “You see, I’ve bought you.  You’re mine.  To do with as I wish.  And right now, I demand you get over here lest you suffer the consequences.”

“Bought her?!”  Takahiro spat, his arms encircling her protectively as he stared at the man up above.  “She’s not going anywhere with you.” 

“You are boring me.”  The man replied with an air of indifference, gesturing lazily to the two men.  The one that carried Takahiro smiled cruelly and stepped to the side, soon returning with a scoped rifle, pointing it down at the pair.  “Kill the boy, get me my girl.”

“NO!”  Kayla screamed, throwing herself in front of Takahiro and covering his head with her hands, desperately trying to protect him.

“Then get up here, girl!”  The man with the gun sneered, his eyes peering beadily onto Takahiro’s form.

“If I do you’ll just kill him!”  She cried in protest, clinging to him tightly and whimpering when she feels his arms wrapping around her waist just as tightly.

“If you do as I say, I might just let the boy live.”  The well-dressed one purred, staring down at her now with a cruel gleam in his eyes.

Kayla paused, staring up at him with tears in her eyes.  After a moment she turned, staring up at him wide-eyed.  “If I do as you say… will you let him go?  I won’t fight you, won’t ever try to run if you just let him live… please.”

“Kayla no!”  He cried in protest, trying to spin her around to face him, shock and terror written clearly over his face.

“Do we have a deal?!”  She yelled over his desperate pleas, tears streaming down her face.

The man thought this over for a moment, his chin as he stared at her in contemplation.  “We have a deal.  Get the girl, bind, gag and blindfold him and get him away from here.”  He gestured toward the men, before spinning on his heel and walking back toward the cabin.  “I’ll be waiting.”

“Babe what are you thinking?!”  Takahiro sobbed, cupping her face in her hands.  “You’ll be at his disposal!  Who knows what he’ll do to you!” 

“But you’ll be alive…”  She whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks again as she covered his hands with her own.  “That’s all that matters to me… I’m so sorry Taka.  I love you, I love you…”  Whimpering, she pressed firmly to his, clinging to him desperately as she heard the men coming down a ladder into the pit. 

Roughly one of them grabbed her forearm and yanked her back from Takahiro, the other grabbing his still sore wrists and holding him still.  “No! Wait!  Just one more minute, please!!  PLEASE!”  Takahiro begged, struggling to get toward Kayla despite the pain lancing up his arms.  The man ignored Takahiro’s pleas for time and shoved Kayla toward the ladder, leering as she started climbing above him in the skirt.  “Kayla!!”  He screamed as the man shoved a gag into his mouth, tying a blindfold over his eyes.  The last sight he had of her was her tear stained face, staring at him with such sorrow and love his heart ached. 

Soon, he too was shoved toward the ladder, and he blindly started climbing the wooden rungs, ignoring the shoving from the guy below until he sprawled out into the warmth of the sun, choking on his sobs.  He thought for half a moment about running and trying to find her but the thick grip on his hair yanking him to his feet told him to ignore that thought.

“March.”  He snarled, pushing him into the woods, forcing Takahiro to keep his arms straight out in front of him.  As they walked, Takahiro kept his mind focused on the path they took, where the warmth of the sun came from, the sounds, the breeze, anything he could use to find his way back.  After a few minutes the man knocked him down and laughed as Takahiro winced in pain from the rocks cutting his palms.  “Yer pathetic, you know.  We shoulda’ just killed yer .  But noooo… Mr. Smith wanted to make his new happy.  Not that’d he’ll keep her fer long.  He gets bored easily.  She’ll be up fer sale again soon, but used goods don’t go fer very much.  Maybe I could buy her.  Get her niiiiice and cheap.” 

Takahiro had had enough of the sickening tone in his voice.  He had enough of being shoved, watching Kayla be grabbed and hit, and a dark rage boiled into his entire being.  He suddenly realized a fatal error his captor had made; he wasn’t bound.  Despite the order he had been given, Takahiro’s arms were left free.  With a feral snarl from behind his gag he tore off his blindfold and dove at his captor, digging his fingers into the man’s thick throat.  Large hands reached up to grab at him, but he kicked the hands away, gripping his throat until he turned purple, his eyes rolling into the back of his head until he lay still.

His chest heaving, he tore his gag free as he tugged the knife, his knife, free from the man’s belt and shoved it in his pocket, only just noticing the glint of a key hanging from the man’s fat neck as he turned to leave.  Yanking it free, he paused and stared at the bandanas still around his wrists and smiled faintly.  Pulling them from his wrists he knelt down and quickly trussed the man up, tying his hands behind his back so tightly his fingertips started to turn purple.   With his blindfold he tied up the man’s ankles and shoved the gag back into his mouth just as the man started to come around. 

“You look at me, and you listen damn well.”  Takahiro snarled, his hands twisting into fists as the man stared in both shock and rage at the more slender man.  “She is mine and I will do anything I can to get her back.  Enjoy the darkness out in the forest.”  With a snap of his arm he punched the man in the temple, immediately rendering the man unconscious in an ungainly heap on the forest floor.

With a smug smirk, he spun on his heel and immediately began racing back along the path he memorized toward the clearing.  Soon, he got within earshot and heard Kayla’s screams, pleading for him to stop, asking for mercy.  Rage filled him once more, and he looked into the clearing from a vantage point. 

The well-dressed man, Mr. Smith the man had said, was dragging Kayla toward an ATV.  With grim satisfaction he saw that despite her promise to the man, she was clearly fighting him every step toward the vehicle.  But he knew that the man’s patience and desire for her would only last so long.  Desperately he looked around until he saw the gun, so recently having been pointed at his own head, abandoned by the cage in the ground.  Slowly he crept in through the shadows toward the weapon, until he managed to wrap his fingers around it and tug it to his chest. 

A scream rent the air and he spun around, seeing the man’s patience had finally worn out.  He had his hand gripped tightly into Kayla’s hair and was now dragging her toward the ATV.  Takahiro knew his time was rapidly running out, and he prayed that the gun was loaded as he ran forward.  His long legs ate up the ground until he skid to a stop right within the sunlight. “Kayla!!!”

“Taka!”  She cried desperately, her hands gripping the man’s as he yanked her fiercely before glancing up to see him.

“How the did you get loose?!”  He snarled, pulling Kayla to his chest with one hand, attempting to hide behind the wisp of a girl.

“That’s the funny thing about idiots for minions.   They’re, well, idiots.  He didn’t tie my hands.”  Takahiro smirked as he sighted down the scope, his finger hanging over the trigger as he willed his hands to stop shaking.  “Funny how easy fat guys fall down and stay down.”

“Put the gun down, and no one will get hurt.”  His voice had regained the sickening smooth note to it as he tried to talk his way out of the situation, but Takahiro noticed that he was slowly shuffling back toward the waiting ATV.

“Except you.”  He murmured flatly, seeing a target open and pulling the trigger.

The bullet flew straight into the man’s shoulder, causing him to scream in pain as he staggered back from Kayla, who stumbled to the ground.  Takahiro took this gap and raced forward, pointing the rifle directly at the man’s head.  “I should kill you, you know…”  He rasped, his eyes wide with rage and shock at what he had just done.

“T-Taka… please…” 

Looking down, he saw Kayla clinging to his leg, her eyes wide and tearless, but her entire body trembling.  “Kayla…”

“Let’s just leave… please…” She whispered, ignoring the man who was currently rolling on the ground, blood oozing from his wounded shoulder. 

For a moment he debated, staring at her with wide eyes.  However, after a moment he nodded, and lowered the gun.   Yet when the man started laughing, he shook his head, clicking his tongue faintly.  “Oh no.  You’re not getting away with that.”  A well-aimed kick left ‘Mr. Smith’ unconscious on the ground, and he tossed the gun into the ATV with a heavy sigh.

The door banged from the small cabin and the first man opened it, his eyes wide.  “What the hell do you think yer doin’?!”

“Leaving.  And you best know the cops will be following our trail.  So leave now, or… well, be ready to meet your new best friend named Bubba.”  Takahiro snapped as he helped Kayla into the ATV, buckling her in safely with a soft smile as he touched her cheek. 

The man paused and stared at him for a moment before diving into the cabin, and soon emerged carrying a bag as he ran into the forest, casting his terrified gaze over in their direction.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Takahiro crawled into the driver’s side and smiles gently as Kayla, reaching over to grip her hand. “We’ll be going home now, babe… I promise.”  He whispered, bringing her knuckles to her lips and brushing them gently against the skin.  

Together they drove from the clearing, their hands gripped tight together and at that moment, then and there, Takahiro knew he wasn’t ever going to leave her side again.  Ever.  Once they got to civilization the cops had been looking for them, and he sent them straight to the clearing.  The man had been arrested, but of the two earlier men there was no sign except for empty ropes in the forest.  ‘Mr. Smith’ was arrested on many counts of ion and human trafficking, but Takahiro and Kayla paid them no mind.  They were together, they were safe.

They were alive.