Even from a young age, he knew he wasn't supposed to be alive.

  Of course, a child born in Central City could never have been the product of a loving retionship. His father was an immature teenager who came to the city from Fukushima, which had become the country's "technical paradise". His mother was a prostitute who traveled from pce to pce to find work.

  He could figure out what happened from there. The two of them messed around, accidentally made a child, and were forced to take on adult responsibilities. His mother had no intention of caring for the child after she gave birth, and his father had even told him that they both considered aborting him. Nevertheless, he came into the world on March 20th, 2162. His mom disappeared and left him with his father.

  Because of this, all he had ever known was the same old dingy building, the same old absent father, and the same old window view. His dad was what's referred to as "Lust Drunk", people who contribute nothing to society and live solely for the purpose of indulging in sexual retionships. He wasn't allowed to go outside and was hit if he was caught sneaking out.

  His dad was rarely home, and when he was, it was just unpleasant. He was a rude and scary guy to be around, especially when he was angry. That's probably why he developed anger issues at a young age. Watching the only adult in his life act so aggressively towards everyone and everything set a bad example.

  As he grew older, he became somewhat of a womanizer, caused by his interest in the random women his dad would bring home. He hated his father, but he was becoming more and more like him every day. That was what made him the most angry.

  Though COT's global takeover wouldn't happen until 2177, COT had already taken complete control of Japan in 2152. The corruption of Japan had already been taking pce for many years before he was born, so he had no idea what regur life was like.

  He remembered vividly the moment he realized their world would never be the same. It was a crisp morning in October, and his dad had been gone for a few days. He turned on the TV to look at the "Chrome Tech" channel, which pyed live updates on COT construction sites. He mostly watched for the interviews with pretty women across Japan that were pyed during what would usually be ad slots.

  Instead of the usual technological construction site breakdown, there was a news report.

  An old man with white hair was broadcasting from COT's news tower.

  "Japanese citizens should be aware that COT has succeeded in putting all remaining countries under its control. Previously undefeated countries, including the United States, Russia, Korea, and Iran, have been handed over to our government."

  The man continued to talk about the political details of the takeover. He knew this was happening. It had been going on for months already. COT had been slowly taking control of smaller countries and making deals with leaders for the ownership of their nd. The world was weakened due to the colpse of societal peace, and COT knew how to take advantage of that.

  There was no escaping COT now. They owned the world.

  He turned off the TV and sat in silence for a while. He had always loved looking at pictures of other countries online. It was an escape from the bleak city he was trapped in.

  He was filled with a rage far beyond his own control. How could they do this to him? He had nowhere to go.

  Without thinking, he got up and left the small apartment, smming the door behind him. He didn't need a key because he knew he wouldn't be coming back. He gnced at the name "Kawano" that was hastily written on the name pque outside the apartment in permanent ink.

  He stormed down the hall, running down each flight of stairs until he got to ground level. A few homeless men were sleeping in the lobby, but nobody was going to stop him from leaving.

  His mind raced. Destruction was the only thing that could release the tension in his body. Unbridled rage that had built up over years of neglect started to spill. If he had to kill a few people to get out his anger, he would, and when it was all over, he would kill himself.

  Looking back on it, he wasn't sure what exactly he spent the whole day doing, but he caused a lot of damage. He attempted to light a house on fire, but the people camping there put it out shortly after he'd left the area. He stole, vandalized buildings, and even attacked a few people who were passed out on the streets.

  By the time night came, he was tired and depressed.

  He decided to follow the bright rotating light on top of a well-known business tower. June Tower was one of the st structures built in Central City, meaning it was also the nicest. It was known as the "beacon" because of the blue light at the top. It stretched thirty feet above the top of the tower and was viewable from any spot in the city.

  Its purpose was to point out the city to people living outside. With anything that mysterious, rumors are bound to spread.

  People said that those whose hearts were hurting would be drawn to the beacon, and if they made it to the top of the tower, the stairs to heaven would appear for them.

  He knew it was just a stupid story, but he wearily walked towards the tower regardless. If he was going to die, he wanted to at least see that light in person. It was the first thing he saw when he woke up, and the st thing he saw when he slept. So in a way, it felt like the beacon was calling him to end his life.

  After a long walk, he made it to the back of the tower. Entering the tower without an ID badge was illegal. He found the dder on the side of the building that he'd heard of in the story. The tower was extremely tall, and the dder went all the way to the top.

  He took a deep breath and put his hand on the dder, lifting his foot onto the first rung. Heart pounding, he forced himself to climb. If he were caught, he could get into a lot of trouble. Worse, if he fell from the dder, he would probably die. He wanted to take his life decisively, not by accident. He continued climbing, his grip on the rungs getting tighter the higher he got.

  Strong gusts of wind threatened to blow him off. Halfway through the climb, his foot slipped.

  "Fuck!!" he yelled, legs filing beneath him. Panic set in as he tried to find his footing again. His foot found where it was supposed to be, and he sighed with relief. He waited for a moment to regain his composure, then continued climbing.

  When he made it to the top, he pulled himself onto the roof and looked around. The beacon was in the middle of the roof, shining just as brightly as ever. It was so bright that he couldn't look directly at it without receiving an intense afterimage.

  "This is so stupid." He kicked an empty can, which had been left there by a previous visitor. It rolled towards the edge of the roof and was stopped by a raised ledge. "ARGH!"

  He yelled, banging his head against the beacon and gripping it with his hands. He wanted to jump off the roof, but now that he was up there, he was getting scared. That angered him—the fact that he was beginning to regret his choices.

  "God...God just kill me already! There is no fucking heaven!!" he yelled angrily.

  Even though the story wasn't true, there was a part of him that had been hoping it was. Hoping that maybe those pearly stairs would appear just for him and save him from the life he was confined to.

  "How do you know that?" someone said.

  "W-what? Who's there?" he asked, spinning around to find the origin of the voice. The world spun, and so did his mind. Finally, he spotted the silhouette of a person sitting on the edge of the roof. He couldn't make out the color of their hair or clothes because the light above them cast such a harsh shadow.

  "How do you know there isn't a heaven?" they asked him again.

  "B-because there isn't! God doesn't exist! He abandoned me!" he yelled. Besides his need to simply yell at someone, he was scared that the person would fall off the building if they weren't careful. Their legs hung over the edge, dangling in the air dangerously. They weren't even holding onto the small ledge around the roof, even though they were hundreds of feet above the ground. He could tell that whoever it was, they had no fear of death.

  "If there isn't a God, then why did you come here?"

  "Shit..." he could imagine the smirk on the person's face without even seeing it. He could tell it was a boy from the sound of their voice. The worst thing was that the stranger knew why he was there. He was there to see the stairs to heaven.

  Anybody would know that someone who climbed the June tower was out of their mind.

  "Why are you here? You came here to die, too, didn't you!?" He walked closer to the boy.

  To his surprise, the boy started ughing. "This isn't funny!" he fumed.

  "Acting like a little kid ain't gonna do you any good. If ya wanna keep throwing a fit like you have been, be my guest," the boy said. "I seen a lot'a guys like you. They have a bad day, take it out on everyone else, and then end their life."

  "Stop acting like you know me! You don't know anything about me, you...you self-righteous prick!" he clenched his fists.

  "Yeah, I don't know you," the boy answered. He couldn't sense even an ounce of anger in the boy's voice. "But I know you've got some doubt in that heart'a yours."

  The boy was silent for a moment, and he saw a cloud of smoke rise. The boy's hand moved away from his mouth, and he could see the shadowy outline of a cigarette in his hand.

  "The question is, are you just like everyone else?"

  He was caught off guard by the question, and he honestly didn't know how to answer.

  Are you just like everyone else?

  The boy patted the space next to him, inviting him to sit down. He carefully moved to sit next to him. His hands tightly gripped the edge of the building. He didn't look at the boy out of pure embarrassment. His question had made him realize how foolishly he was acting.

  He saw a fsh of light out of the corner of his eye and the sound of something being lit.

  "Here," the boy held a lit cigarette out to him without looking his way. He hesitated, but took it from him regardless. He had never smoked before.

  Building up his courage, he finally looked at the stranger. His eyes widened when he saw the defined face of the guy sitting next to him, illuminated by the billboard lights from the skyscrapers closest to them.

  The boy was around the same age, and considering that he was 14 years old, that meant a kid had been lecturing him. The boy's hair was dark magenta, his eyes a deep brown, and his entire appearance was messy and unkempt. He looked like the typical homeless teenager. All he could focus on was that faraway look in the boy's eyes, like he was somewhere else entirely.

  "What's your name?" the boy asked him.

  "Err- Hideo Kawano...yours?"

  "Oh? I would've guessed a guy like you wouldn't wanna use his family name," the boy ughed. "I'm Masao Takeda, nice to meet you," the boy smiled at him with a fierce determination.

  He didn't know where this boy came from or anything about him. He guessed that, with how mysterious he came off, he never would know. All he did know was that this was someone real. Someone who, among all the broken people in this world, managed to hold onto his sense of humanity. It wasn't some fake idea of love, kindness, or even mercy; it was just the raw and untainted desire to live and to live regardless of what may be coming.

  "So did you run away from home? Or are you just a squatter like me?" Masao asked him.

  "I ran away this morning...When I heard about what COT did."

  "Ah, that makes sense. Your parents worried about you?"

  "Nope. My dad wouldn't care if I died," he stated.

  "I guess you've got nothing to lose then. You look pretty young though..."

  "I'm fourteen, I think I've had enough of this world already."

  "You think I haven't? I'm fifteen, been on the streets for seven years," Masao smiled gently. "Everyone's got different circumstances. It's just what you do with yourself that matters."

  They both stopped talking after Hideo realized he was being insensitive. At least he had a home he could stay safe in. Masao was really on his own.

  "I was thinking...what could make a guy happier than having a few friends to hang out with," Masao said to break the silence. "I wanted to find some people to cause some trouble with, like a sort of protest against all this COT stuff."

  "Huh?"

  "But whenever I ask people my age about it, they aren't interested. Everyone's too busy living in a damn bubble," Masao went on. Hideo sensed a hint of frustration from him. "I thought, maybe if I could find someone who isn't afraid to die, that would be the guy I could do it with."

  "Why someone who isn't afraid to die? There are lots of people who want to die. I don't see why that's so hard to find."

  "People who want to die are weak. They're trying to escape something, usually themselves," he took a drag of his cigarette, letting out a long sigh. "If you aren't afraid of death, nothing can scare you. Death is the scariest thing, isn't it?"

  "I guess so."

  "That's the type'a guy I need. Someone who would risk his life just to make a change in this world. Someone who won't abandon me when we're in trouble. Stuff like that."

  "Are you asking if I want to be your friend?"

  Masao looked him straight in the eyes when he said that. His hair blew across his face as the wind swept past them. His eyes were lit by the blue beacon above them. From his view, Masao was stunning and far more impressive than the superheroes and pretty women he watched on TV.

  "If you'd like to, I wanna climb back down that dder with you, and when we get to the bottom, I wanna find a pce to stay," he said. "Together."

  Hideo nodded, and they both stood up. He was the first to start climbing down, and Masao followed after. Going down was a little tougher than going up, but he knew he had to make it to the bottom in one piece.

  From that night on, Hideo never returned home. Whether his dad looked for him or not was a mystery. He didn't care if he was missed because he found somewhere he would rather be. Masao never once judged him for the way he was. Because of that night, Hideo respected Masao more than anyone.

  Living with Masao was weird at first. They shared a giant four-bedroom house by themselves, and until they found more members to join their 'rebellion,' they spent every day trying to survive. The next five years were a blur. His alcohol addiction began somewhere along that path, and Masao's reputation as a gambling addicted pyer grew rger with every party they threw.

  When it was all over, they were just two people learning to enjoy life.

  Masao never brought up the "God question" again because he already knew the answer Hideo would give him. It didn't matter if there was a heaven or if God was really there with them in that city, because Hideo was sure that only God could have led him to Masao that night.