Darkness.

That was all she could see.

Cold, unwelcoming, crushing, black darkness.

She lay on the concrete floor of the room, a basement she had presumed. The door was bolted shut, as always, except for when her captor brought her food. The old light bulb in the centre of the ceiling had died some time ago. The small high-set window had also been bolted shut, the glass painted over with black, so no sunlight may shine in. The floor was dusty and dirty from months of neglect, yet there was no bed, so she had no choice but to sleep on the floor. The room was mainly bare, except for a washing machine no one used, and an old clothe rack. Both were old and dirty.

Amu knew that she, like the room, had also degraded from neglect. Her glossy pink hair, left unwashed and uncared for, had turned to a dim puce colour. Her sparkling golden eyes had dulled to the colour of old gold. Her slightly tanned skin became deathly pale with the lack of sunlight, the flawless surface marred with the scars and bruises of dozens of beatings. Her captor gave her little food, so her limbs were skinny, her ribcage showed and her face was gaunt. Her worse aspect had to be her rebellious spirit. It had been shattered long ago, and very painfully too.

She looked at the wall to her left. When she first came, she had a watch with her, so she was able to mark the days that went by. Her watch died about 3 weeks after arrival, so she continued with estimations. She had lost count at around 7 weeks, or she just merely didn't have the will. She didn't know how long anymore. It could have days or weeks or months or years for all she knew.

Over on her right, lying near the door, was the tray that she was served her food on. She had already eaten the meal, a pitiful dinner of bread with some vegetables and water. The cutlery, which was not needed, lay on top of the plate.

She looked up at the ceiling, remembering the day this whole mess had happened. She shed a tear at the painful memories.

~.~.~

It had all began after summer holidays. Amu mother had just died, and she brought her grief to school. One of the students in her class, Ikuto Tsukiyomi, had attempted to comfort her, showing her sympathy, telling her his father had died too.

Soon after that, they had started dating. They fell so deep in love, they had to see each other regularly, or else they would feel so lonely. The whole school was happy for them, well except one person. Tadase Hotori, self-proclaimed king of the school, had always loved Amu, and was furious she was with another man. Amu knew this, so went out of her way to avoid him.

It got worse.

Tadase had begun to stalk her, trying to break her and Ikuto apart. Amu was so scared, when she realised, she ran to Ikuto straight away and told him. Ikuto was enraged at Tadase, and threatened to call the police. Tadase had backed off after that. Or so they thought.

2 weeks after Tadase had given up, Amu was walking home with Ikuto after a late-night date to the movies, laughing and talking. At Amu's front door, Amu stood on her toes to give him a good-night kiss. But before they could, there was a sound like a cracking whip, and Ikuto grunted and lurched forward. Amu had managed to catch him before he fell, but when her fingers came up red, she looked horrified at the sight of a bullet hole in his back, bleeding profusely. She cried out in terror and grief as Ikuto's lifeblood pooled onto the doorstep. She looked for the source of the bullet and saw a short figure, shrouded in the shadows, holding a smoking pistol. Amu could barely see through her tears as she scrambled to her bag, attempting to call the police. Before she could dial a single digit, the figure rushed forward and pressed a cloth that smelled suspiciously of chloroform to her airways. She had struggled so much that night, but in the end, her eyes closed, the last thing she saw being blonde hair.

When she woke up, she was in this poor excuse for a room. When she tried desperately to escape when her captor entered the room, she was beaten within an inch of her life. When Amu saw his face, Amu was shocked to see that her captor was Tadase. Tadase told her that it was no use to escape; he had put security cameras around the place. He then left then returned with a portable television and he turned it to the afternoon news. The feature article; her and Ikuto. The news reporter spoke:

Today at around 5:36am, the body of high school student, Ikuto Tsukiyomi, was found on the doorstep of the Hinamori residence. The police have reported that Ikuto had been shot in the chest, and that this may have been a double crime. The Hinamoris' daughter, Amu Hinamori, was reported missing on the same night as Ikuto's death. Amu's father, Mr Hinamori, told the police that Amu had been on a date to the movies with Ikuto, and had not been back since. Neighbours report that last night, they had heard screaming and a gunshot. One neighbour says he saw the car, but it was unregistered. Police on the scene found signs of struggle and skid marks that neighbours report had not been there that day. They are currently opening a case to find the missing girl and the murderer. If you have any information on the Tsukiyomi-Hinamori case, please ring the emergency hotline...

Tadase had just laughed. Laughed and laughed and laughed. When he left, Amu had cried her heart out; clutching the golden lock Ikuto had given her before their date. He had had a key to go with it.

After that, Tadase would come regularly. He would beat her, make her do stuff, he even raped her once. Amu was completely miserable.

~.~.~

Amu's tears ran down her cheeks. She would give anything to escape this hell hole. She wanted more than anything to see Ikuto again. Then it came to her.

She crawled over the tray, picking up the knife. It wasn't very sharp, but it would have to do. She crawled back to her wall, leaning against it again. Fingers trembling, she placed the flat of the knife against her wrist, shivering at the contact of the cool metal on her skin. Gathering a deep breath, she lifted then knife and in one swipe, viciously tore open a gash on her wrist, blood spilling out. She slashed again and again, until most of her forearm was dyed red.

She dropped the bloody knife on the ground, grinning for the first time in ages. The sight of her arm leaking her lifeblood filled her with a sense of euphoria. She was happy to see her blood pool on the concrete. And for the first time for ages, she saw light.

It was a mighty star, right in front of her vision. It showed a place where there was no suffering, no cold, no hunger. It was Paradise.

She stretched out her arm, hoping to touch it. She wondered if her mother would be there. She definitely knew she would see Ikuto though. The light came closer as her body's vision darkened, her body's eyes becoming glazed and unfocused.

Her arm dropped to the floor. As she died, still smiling, she thought, 'Soon... I will see Ikuto soon...'

With that, her body slumped sideways, her mouth still holding the ghost of her smile.

~.~.~

High above, a blue-haired angel looked down at her, wearing the half-smirk half-smile he knew she loved, ready to welcome her with open arms.