Kei had come to visit the shrine and get some fresh air. He had a company meeting soon, they had forced him to be there and forced him to wear a tie and suit that felt much too tight for him and made him feel that they were cutting off his oxygen. He felt lost and alone and he hadn't expected to arrive at the shrine and see that it was a wedding.

Right in front of his eyes was something that he now knew he couldn't have…well until he was able to find her that was. He knew that he would never forget her and he couldn't imagine anyone else standing in Hikari's place. Maybe they should make Sui the heir, he was smart and he would probably have children. That way the stupid Takishima lineage could continue.

With halted breath, Kei stared ahead at where the man was gazing at his bride with so much affection and love. This joy that someone who never believed that this love would be stolen from him would have. If only the world hadn't changed the way that it had. If only he could be with the woman he loved.

If none of this had happened, would he be marrying her? Would he have that smile on her face? Would she be here with that smile on her face instead of everyone else trying to make her become part of the forgotten.

Chapter Ten

Kei looked across at Hikari as she had curled up on his bed. He had been nervous about her being here with him and had even suggested the guest bedroom to her. After all that she had been through perhaps sharing the same bed as a man wasn't something that he should be endorsing. "Are you alright?" he asked her as he sat on the bed in front of her. "I can understand if you don't want me close by. I want you to feel safe more than anything and if being in the guest room helps with that…"

"You worry about me a lot," Hikari said as she looked into his eyes and smiled. She knew that he would always want to keep her safe. He would always fight against whatever powers wanted to render her weak and helpless in the future. She felt at peace with him in front of her.

"Well, that's because I love you a lot," Kei said with his winning smile. "Besides, I thought that analyzing situations actually led you to get smarter, isn't that what you once told me a long time ago."

"Perhaps," Hikari nodded, "although knowing me, I would probably have said that by only looking back on the mistakes and the things that went wrong can you make sure to avoid those things in the future," she shivered and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Maybe if I try to forgive myself and my past for people being able to take advantage of me and only look at me as a sex sym-"

"Screw them," Kei said looking down sadly. "I mean it, Hikari, don't give any of them a second thought. Don't give them the satisfaction of being thought about. Erase it or I promise you," Kei said as he leaned forwards and placed a kiss on the lips of the woman he loved, "I will help you to forget about them."

Hikari nodded as tears came to her eyes again. "I just…all those days we could have been competing, we could have been married by now. I could have been a Takishima and…"

"You can always become a Takishima, I am always going to want to marry you," Kei attempted to persuade her. He let his hand rest on her cheek and brought it up. "Whatever you need, if I can give it to you then I will."

Hikari smiled thoughtfully before looking up at him again. "Can I look at your computer?" she asked as Kei paused. He believed that he had locked all of those files up in a secret area that nobody could find. He didn't think that Hikari would be poking around in his files anyway. He was more concerned about keeping her away from the news than anything else. After being locked up for so long, it might be a shock to find out all the unpleasantness that had happened in the world around them.

"If you feel nervous you'll turn it off, right?" Kei asked with the concern filling his facial expression. "Any anxiety at all and you'll make sure that you step away from it?"

Hikari nodded and smiled as Kei let her on.

"I should have really bought you a computer of your own, one of the new laptops," he told her. "I'll do that tomorrow." He grinned as he saw her turn to him in surprise.

"I can…I can try to pay for it…you don't need to…" she said as he continued to grin.

"I love buying you things," he admitted as she blushed and looked towards the computer screen as it loaded. She saw him pick up a book and so decided to check online. Maybe her email account would still work and she could see what people had sent her.

…..

…..

Kei had finally fallen asleep. Something about Hikari being safe and knowing that she was right next to him even if she might stumble across some world news that would make her feel a bit uncomfortable, made everything feel more at ease and he could find some relaxation with her. He didn't know that when a website had tried to play a strangely formatted video clip it would also drag up some files that he hoped that she would never ever see.

That's when he had woken up after being slapped and he sat up straight staring at the girl before him who looked as if he had just murdered somebody. He paused and tried to figure out what she had learned.

"Hikari?" he asked as Hikari shivered.

"You watched them?" She pointed to the computer and Kei felt his insides twist up until he had trouble breathing. He paused as he looked at the way that Hikari stood in front of him. He had betrayed her. He knew that that was what she felt and in a way he had. He had become a repugnant person but he had tried to do it for her own good.

"I…It made me feel sick, it killed me and broke my heart but I had to," Kei attempted to stress and Hikari shivered.

"Because it was fun for you watching the person you say you love getting hurt in those kinds of ways. How could you watch them?" she sobbed, "I had a feeling the police would be watching them but you. I trusted you."

"And I felt that even if you hated me, I would make sure to get my revenge on anyone who had hurt you in the past. I never wanted you to be in an area where they could approach you. I always wanted to be on guard, make sure none of those sick perverts felt that they could get away with what they've done without any consequences," Kei said as he saw her standing there.

He would understand if she just yelled out that she hated him, but she fell to the ground and shivered.

Kei had the sense not to reach out to her. "It killed me inside, it made me hate myself for doing it, but you know how I am with faces and that I can remember people instantly. I have the same tools that the police do and better knowledge than any of them as well," he said before looking down. "I knew that even if you wound up hating me I would protect you because you being alright is worth so much more to me than anything else."

"Even if I hated you?" Hikari asked as she looked up and saw the honesty in his eyes, "Please don't tell me you got a sexual thrill-"

"Never," Kei cut her off. "I would never do something like that and I am sick that I had to do that, but years ago, when this happened I could have kept you safe. It doesn't matter what happens to me, Hikari. It doesn't matter if I'm alone for the rest of my life or that you never want to see me again. It doesn't matter if the Takishima family is left without its heir, the only thing that matters to me is you being safe and you getting the air – the freedom that you deserve."

Hikari took deep breaths in and then placed a hand on the cheek that she had just slapped. She didn't say anything but leaned in and kissed him before pulling back tears in her eyes. "Do you see me as weak?" she asked, "Do you see me as pitiful?"

"No," Kei replied honestly. He took her hand, "No, I hate them for what they did to you. I wish that I could kill all of them and then die myself but no, not you. I did this, as messed up as it is, because I love you. I will do anything in my power to make sure that nobody touches you again."

"Because you want to protect me?" Hikari asked as she looked at him with more understanding that Kei both expected and felt that he deserved. "I love you, Takishima. I'm mad at you, but I love you and I don't want…"

"You have every reason in the world to be mad at me," Kei told her. "I failed as your boyfriend but -"

"Hopefully after tonight you won't fail as my husband," she said to him as Kei's eyes widened. What on earth did she mean by that? "Tonight. I want to elope tonight," she said as Kei took a short breath in and nodded slowly. "I want you by my side. I hate that you saw that, but I know you, I know that you did that to keep me safe and protect me and I believe you that it broke you to see that because every time you get hurt or sick, I feel myself breaking."

Kei nodded slowly, "You really are far too good for me," he told her.

"Then that means I win," Hikari nodded.

AN:

Thank you to everyone who has favorited/followed this fic and everyone who supports this fic regardless if you have or not. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. A special shout out to: Unknown Reviewer for reviewing the previous chapter 😊