Jiro and Mizuki held hands as they tread the path to Mizuki's home. They would occasionally steal
glances at each other and grin from ear to ear. The night had already arrived and the stars were hidden behind the thick clouds. Even the moon betrayed them. Only the lights from the posts provided them lights.
On their way home, they needed to pass through an alley that was unexpectedly empty and dark
today. They were walking at a slow pace to make Jiro somehow recover from tiredness. Mizuki clung to him tightly.
"Ah! No no—help—!"
A loud shrieking voice made them halt and looked at each other with wide eyes. The voice was of female's and came from the west.
"Jiro, you should go first. You're tired. I—"
"Stupid, I'll go with you."
Jiro sensed that Mizuki wanted to follow the voice that seems to be asking for help. He couldn't let her tend to it alone. Being tired was nothing if it meant being with Mizuki.
They hurriedly went to the voice only to found out a group of men laughing madly while pulling their
pants up. They all have large bodies built with strong muscles. There 9 of them, all puffing cigarettes with sinister smiles formed on their lips. Some were wearing tattered pants and sleeveless undershirts while the rest wore black jackets. The scent of alcohol covered the misty place. All of them were holding different kinds of weapons such as guns, wood, and brass knuckles. They were in a circle and on the center lies a woman all bloodied up. Her neck was slit open and her bottom was naked.
Mizuki was horror-struck and tugged Jiro's kimono. She gulped and immediately covered her mouth
to prevent a sound from escaping it. Jiro looked at her and signaled her to be silent as they slowly take steps backward. Forget about helping. The girl was already cold dead.
Jiro's back drenched in sweat due to nervousness. If something happened to Mizuki, he wouldn't
forgive himself. He continuously wished in his heart that these guys won't discover them.
They silently took steps backward. Mizuki was behind him while Jiro played as the lookout.
Mizuki stiffened when she bumped into something large and of great strength. Jiro noticed her
movements and turned to her only to found out a man with a large body and face covered with hair
pointing a knife on Mizuki. It was glaring at them. The man licked his lips with his disgusting tongue and shouted, loud enough to be heard by the other men.
"Someone brought us another girl. Much more interesting than the first one," the man started laughing.
"Leave her alone!" Jiro tried to grab Mizuki away from the man but it wasn't forceful enough. The man pulled Mizuki by her hair and dragged her to the group of men. She started sobbing hard. Her face was completely paled and cold sweats ran down her face.
"No, please no," Jiro chased them but the group of men had already arrived and kicked Jiro who
instantly fell.
"Jiro. Jiro. Please don't hurt him. Don't hurt us, please," Mizuki kneeled and begged.
"Oh? This girl is already ready? Look, she's kneeling."
A man went to Mizuki and opened his zipper, Jiro's blood boiled, and tried to ran to stop the man regardless of how difficult it is. He jumped to the man and gave him a series of punches. The man casually pushed Jiro with one hand and Jiro immediately fell to the ground. All of the men laughed and mocked him.
"You wanted to save this pretty girl with that weak body of yours?"
"If you run now, we won't hurt you."
"Kid, you can just let us taste this girl then we'll give her back to you after."
Sinister laughs echoed in the alley. The buildings around were empty, perhaps there were still enjoying themselves at the festival.
Jiro cursed himself for being weak. He couldn't even protect himself. How was he supposed of saving Mizuki?
The men focused their attention on Jiro when he tried to stand up again. Both of his hands were
supporting his body. A man walked to him and gave him a hard kick on his stomach. Jiro rolled over and coughed blood. His face was filled with tears, dirt, and blood. Mizuki ran to him and hugged him.
"Jiro.. Hold on, okay? We're getting through this. We will live and—"
A man pulled Mizuki away from Jiro. The man wrecked her yukata and revealed an alluring body. He
slapped Mizuki and pulled her hair.
"I'll send you to heaven sweetie. We'll get through this," then all of them starting laughing again.
"Let her go!" Jiro was surrounded by the rest of the men and beat him up. Slowly, he could not speak anymore. He could only fix his gaze on where Mizuki was being pulled to, his eyes filled with tears.
As he helplessly watched Mizuki get dragged away while the man pinned her down to pull on her
clothes, he could only watch as his love was violated by the rogue. Jiro felt his heart was about to explode.
His voice was already hoarse and he could only shout weakly like a trapped animal, "Don't touch her! Don't touch her...don't touch her...don't touch her..."
He had never ever hated himself this much as he did this very moment! He hated himself! Before, he hated himself for not being born as a human to be with Mizuki. And now, he hated himself for not having powers to protect her. He regretted that he came back, that he removed his divine protection and transformed into a human.
Jiro helplessly closed his eyes. The moans of the evil men and pleads of Mizuki echoed in his ears. She was being violated in front of him. After the men finished their business for hours, they bid goodbye and thanked Jiro for allowing them to have fun. He wanted to kill himself for being useless and a bastard.
He crawled to Mizuki who was lying on the ground with a dead look. The tears on her face had already dried. She was naked and her bottom was showered with blood and disgusting liquids from disgusting men. Jiro carefully lifts her for an embrace. He can hear a soft breath from Mizuki. He couldn't help from crying.
"Mizuki, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come back," Jiro apologized and kissed Mizuki's forehead.
Mizuki seemed to have found a flicker of light from the dark dimension she was in. Her eyes moved
and looked at Jiro. She tried to smile and say some words. Jiro couldn't hear him despite being just inches away. He closed his ear to Mizuki.
"I love you, Jiro. I'm glad you fulfilled your promise. You stayed by my side until I die," she said with difficulty. She started gasping for breath.
"Please, Mizuki. Don't leave me, please. Please. Please."
Jiro sobbed and coughed blood. Mizuki smiled bitterly and raised her hand to cup Jiro's cheeks. The latter closed until their foreheads and noses touched.
Mizuki smiled genuinely before the light left her eyes.
"No no Mizuki, hold on. Please!"
That night in spring, Mizuki died.