It was a cold, unforgiving night. Rain poured in relentless sheets, and the air carried a chill that pierced the skin. Ayane was on her way home from an evening study session at the library. She hugged her bag tightly to her chest, her steps quickened by the eerie silence that settled over the dimly lit street.
She turned a corner and stopped in her tracks. Ahead, a group of men loomed under a flickering streetlight. Their eyes locked onto her, predatory and unforgiving.
"Well, what do we have here?" one of them said, his voice slithering through the air like poison.
Ayane instinctively took a step back, her heart racing. She glanced around, searching for an escape, but they moved quickly, blocking her path.
"Please," she stammered. "I just want to go home."
Her plea only elicited cruel laughter. "Home?" the leader sneered. "How about you spend some time with us first?"
Ayane's stomach dropped as one of them gestured to the ground nearby. A girl, barely older than herself, lay motionless in the dirt. Her clothes were torn, her face bruised, and her sobs were muffled by the rain.
"No... please, no..." Ayane whimpered, her voice shaking.
The men advanced. One grabbed her wrist, another yanked at her bag, and a third reached for her jacket. Ayane thrashed and screamed, but they were stronger, their laughter growing louder as they closed in on her.
---
In the shadows, Hikaru stood frozen. He had followed the group out of habit, his role in the gang as an unwilling accomplice weighing on his soul. But when he saw Ayane—his classmate, his only real friend—his breath caught in his throat.
"Ayane..." he whispered, his voice cracking.
He remembered the times she had stood up for him against bullies, how she had bandaged his wounds when they pushed him down the stairs, and how she always smiled at him, even when he couldn't meet her gaze.
Hikaru's fists clenched. "I can't... I can't let this happen," he muttered to himself.
But fear gripped him. These weren't just bullies; these were men who had destroyed lives, who wouldn't hesitate to kill him for defying them.
When Ayane screamed his name, desperation breaking through her voice, something inside him snapped.
"Let her go!" Hikaru roared, stepping into the light.
The gang turned, surprised.
"Hikaru?" the leader growled. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I said, let her go!" he shouted again, his voice trembling with rage.
The leader smirked. "You've got some nerve, boy. What, you think you can take us on?"
---
Hikaru charged at the man holding Ayane, knocking him to the ground. The others quickly surrounded him, raining punches and kicks on him.
"Run!" he yelled at Ayane, blood dripping from his mouth. "Get out of here!"
But Ayane couldn't move. Tears blurred her vision as she watched him fight, taking blow after blow, refusing to back down.
"Hikaru, stop!" she cried. "They'll kill you!"
One of the gang members grabbed a metal pipe and swung it at Hikaru, hitting him square in the ribs. He fell to the ground, gasping for air.
"Pathetic," the leader sneered, drawing a knife.
Hikaru struggled to his feet, his gaze locking onto Ayane's tear-streaked face. "I won't let them hurt you," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
As the leader lunged at him, Ayane screamed and threw herself at the man, knocking him off balance. She grabbed a rock from the ground and swung it at him, her hands trembling.
"You bastards!" she screamed.
The leader stumbled back, and Hikaru seized the moment, tackling him to the ground. With Ayane's help, they managed to fight off the gang and escape into the night.
---
They ran until they couldn't anymore, collapsing onto the grass of an empty park. Hikaru clutched his side, blood staining his shirt, while Ayane trembled beside him.
"Why...why did you do that?" she asked, her voice shaking.
Hikaru looked at her, his swollen face softening. "Because I couldn't stand by and watch them hurt you."
Ayane bit her lip, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You idiot," she whispered. "You could have been killed!"
"But you're safe," Hikaru said with a weak smile. "That's all that matters."
Her chest tightened at his words. In that moment, she saw past his rough exterior, past the scars and the fear. She saw the boy who had always been there, quietly protecting her, even when she didn't notice.
---
The days that followed brought them closer. Hikaru left the gang, determined to turn his life around. Ayane stayed by his side, her gratitude blossoming into something deeper.
Hikaru walked her home every day after school, carrying her bag despite her protests. She cooked him meals when his part-time job left him exhausted, and he surprised her with flowers he bought with his first paycheck.
"You're too kind to me," Hikaru said one day, sitting beside her on a bench overlooking the city.
Ayane blushed. "It's the least I can do after what you've done for me."
He reached for her hand, hesitating before intertwining his fingers with hers. "I'll protect you, Ayane. Always."
She smiled, her cheeks pink. "And I'll stand by you, no matter what."
---
At eighteen, they married in a small, quiet ceremony. Hikaru wore a slightly oversized suit, and Ayane wore a simple white dress, but to them, it was perfect.
As they exchanged vows, Hikaru's voice was steady. "I promise to always protect you, no matter what."
Ayane's voice trembled as she replied, "And I promise to always love you, no matter what."
Their honeymoon was filled with laughter and stolen kisses, their dreams for the future shining brightly.
But their happiness was fleeting.
One night, as Hikaru walked home from work, the gang ambushed him.
"You think you can just leave us, huh?" the leader snarled.
Hikaru fought back with everything he had, but they were too many, their rage fueled by vengeance.
Ayane rushed to the hospital when she got the call, finding Hikaru lying pale and battered.
"Hey, Ayane," he whispered, his voice weak but full of love. "Guess I couldn't keep my promise, huh?"
Tears streamed down her face. "Don't say that! You're going to be fine!"
"I'm glad... I got to love you," he said, his voice fading. "You made my life worth living."
And with those words, he was gone.
---
Ayane was shattered, her grief unbearable. But in time, she found solace in the love they had shared. She visited his grave often, bringing flowers and whispering stories of her days, as if he were still beside her.
"Hikaru," she said one day, her voice trembling. "You promised to protect me, and you did. Now it's my turn to live for both of us."
Their love story, though brief, became her strength—a testament to the power of love to endure, even in the face of unimaginable loss.
---
(End of Chapter 12)