"It's not like I took a vow of chastity . . ."
Every now and then, those words haunted Eiri. They came to him at the worst of times, often filling him with anger and self-loathing. It had been because of him that Shuichi had been . . . damn, it twisted his stomach even now to think of it . . . and then he had said those words, as if they made everything all right.
'That wasn't the point!' his mind would scream at the vocalist. 'It shouldn't have happened! Ever! Not for me, not for anyone! You baka!'
As he watched Shuichi work, writing away in a frenzy, Eiri knew those words were coming back to haunt him and self-loathing filled him. He hated the fact that Shuichi had been raped, and had allowed himself to be raped just to save Eiri's reputation. He blamed himself for that -- Eiri had never stopped blaming himself. Shuichi had been purity. No one had the right to touch the former vocalist like that. No one, and Eiri had gone out of his way to make sure Aizawa Taki learned that lesson well. There was no limit to what Eiri would do to keep Shuichi pure and innocent, even if it meant committing murder once again.
Shuichi lifted his head at athat moment and smiled at him, causing Eiri to smile in return. Shuichi was still purity -- he saw that, even now -- and nothing could ever change that. Not even Aizawa Taki.