The two left the café and walked back, hand in hand, headed for home. Not many people filled the streets now, as the time neared midnight. The streets were dark, and the lack of pedestrians made the already quiet neighborhood almost eerie.

Nagisa spoke softly, "Thank you very much for the dinner and ear rings Tomoya. And of course…" She failed to finish in her embarrassment.

"It was nothing, really." Tomoya replied, his face turning a slight red from thinking of the moment. It was short and simple, but being with the girl he loved most, there is not a single thing he would not give up to enjoy time and passion with his beloved. However, one pressing matter was currently on his mind, one that he couldn't seem to shake, they were lost. He thought he had led the two the same direction they had come from, but the darkness played with his sense of direction, and he hadn't seen the store where he had bought Nagisa's gift, and there was no one around to ask for directions. Nagisa read him like a book.

"Do you know where we're going Tomoya?" She inquired, her head now looking back and forth for the same path.

"Yes, of course I do no need to worry." Tomoya let out the bold-faced lie, in hopes of calming her down.

"No, I think we're lost, it's too dark to see where we came from." Looking behind her, she took a seat on a bus bench, Tomoya followed. He put his left arm around her shoulder and pulled her tight resting his chin on the top of her head. The subtle scent of her shampoo excited his senses and he closed his eyes, hypnotized by her gentle breaths. "I just think we should go back…" she suggested.

"Mhm…" He leaned harder against her.

"I mean it's really late and we could get in trouble."

"That's right..."

"What if we're out here until morning?"

"I have no idea…" Tomoya snapped out of hypnosis, figuring out a plan to return home. Looking ahead, he squinted his eyes, spotting the shop where he had stopped at earlier.

"See, told you I'd find the way." Tomoya pointed towards the road.

"What a relief, let's go home." Nagisa chimed in respite. The two stood up in unison and walked hand in hand down the road.

The road was very dark, as all the street shops had been closed for some time. Besides Nagisa and Tomoya, the road was empty and dead. Something was amiss, as Tomoya's hair stood on end, his heart pumping, he began increase his pace.

"What's wrong?" Nagisa questioned, sensing Okazaki's anxiety.

"N-nothing, I'm… just afraid of the dark, that's all." He outright lied, hoping to hide any really problem that he was afraid of.

"Oh! You should have told me, I would have put a night light in your room."

"Uh, it's ok, I'm trying to get over it myself…" Sighing, Okazaki stopped in his tracks, hearing a strange noise.

"What is it?" Nagisa tugged on his hand.

"Hush for a moment." Tomoya listened closely. A rhythmic smack approached him slowly from behind, in between the sound of foot-steps from his back and front.

"Well, well, well… what have we got here boys?" One of the men behind Tomoya spoke.

"Looks like we got us a cute little couple walking down our street boss." A larger man replied, stepping in the flicking light cracking his knuckles and making eye contact with the now shaking couple.

"L-look it was an honest mistake, we…" Tomoya tried to talk his way out of the situation, holding onto his lovers hand even tighter.

"Shut up!" The man behind him barked, spitting at his feet. "You crossed the line bucko, there's a price for that…"

"Please! Don't hurt us, we just want to go home!" Nagisa pleaded, her voice becoming shaky with fear.

"This girlie here is pretty cute boss." The thug in front continued "Maybe she can pay in… other ways…" The man cackled, outstretching both arms, reaching for Nagisa's frail, frame.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Tomoya barked at the top of his lungs, his hand let go of Nagisa's and back handed the harasser. "Nagisa! Run!" He ordered.

"We got a feisty one on our hands don't we?" The man's voice went from lustful to vengeful.

"But, I don't want to leave you!" Nagisa screamed, but Tomoya didn't listen, instead, his back hand came back for the thug grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him close, pushing Nagisa away from them both.

"Move now!" Tomoya wrestled with the man and had him on his back. He could hear her footsteps in the distance and her sobbing. He should have focused more on the fight, as a swift kick from the gang leader knocked the air out of him, and he rolled off his opponent.

"That was a bad move buddy, now you will REALLY pay." The leader cracked his knuckles, and helped his partner up.

"Should we go after the girl?"

"Another time, we're going to have some target practice on this little bitch right here. Get up." But Tomoya remained in the fetal position, clutching his stomach, attempting to regain his breath. "Did you not hear me shit brain GET UP!" The thug leader grabbed Okazaki and lifted him to his feet. "That wasn't so hard now was it?" He then let go of Tomoya's shirt, head butting him before he could get his balance, sending him against the wall. Okazaki's vision was blurry and he saw four men instead of two, and took a wide swing towards the leader. But his vision deceived him and swung at the wrong double, and he hit nothing, instead, he felt the leader's fist crash into his right cheek, sending him crashing into a trash can. Working hard to steady up, Tomoya let out a low blow, striking the leader in the torso causing him to real back; however, the other man let a round house kick contact Tomoya in the chest before he could chain his attack. Tomoya fell on his bottom, but quickly jumped on his feet, staying low and charging the larger thug, hitting him in the waist, taking him down. A fury of fists contacted the thugs face, left, right, left, right, hitting from the nose to the cheek bone. The attack didn't last long as the leader wrapped his arms around Tomyoa's shoulders and pulled him up. Tomoya tried to wrestle free but it was no use, as the thug he just pounded rose to his feet.

"Here you go buddy, have a few free shots." The boss suggested.

"Thanks boss, I owe ya one." The thug alternated fisted, as he went free on Tomoya's face. Several blows to the face, head nose and chin left him on the verge of unconsciousness, he could feel a warm liquid run down his nose, and drip down onto his shirt and ground.

"All this for a little bitch huh? You coulda left here without a scratch, but no, you had to go a play hero, nice move genius." The thug commented, pulling tighter

"Don't insult her! Tomoya fought uselessly, thoughts of his beloved ran through his mind, at least she was safe, and that was all he wanted. The larger man lit up a cigarette, his face glowing sadistically as he dragged on the cigarette.

"Let our friend here have a drag, it's the lease we can do." The leader ordered a near seductive whisper into his captives' ear.

"Don't mind if I do…" The thug grinned and walked to Okazaki. The punks right hand went for Tomoyas' face and pulled down his jaw, he tried to bite back, but he was out of strength. Pulling the cigarette out of his mouth, it drew closer to his prey's face, as he let out a low scream. The lit end of the cigarette tapped Tomoya's lips, sending him kicking a screaming.

"Calm down asshole!" The thug kneed him in the crotch, his cries immediately ceased. The cigarette contacted, the tip of his tongue, and a loud his mixed with a low bellow filled the air, with the stench of burning flesh. The cigarette retracted, and Tomoya was dropped to his knees.

"We're not done just yet." The leader commented, a flick coming from his side, and a long knife in his hand. Tomoya saw the glint of the blade and lost his. He thought of nothing but Nagisa, the lengths he went to protect her, everything he did for her dreams, from the large task as the drama club, to something as mundane as the earrings. Thinking for a moment, he realized he felt as though his job was done. There was far more he would do with his love, but what he did for now, was all he could do, and he felt at peace with himself, and took a final deep breath. Out of the corner of his eye, a shadowy figure dropped from the rooftop, like something out of a ninja movie.

"Let him go." The figure commanded.

"Go fuck yourself?" The thug turned his attention, and began to walk towards the new person.

"Wrong answer." The figure replied. The last thing Tomoya saw was the two thugs rushing the combat ready person, for once, for a brief instant, in his long, pitiful life Tomya felt at peace. Although it seemed his minor existence in the world would end, he could die knowing that he had saved someone, not just anyone though, his one and only love, a wonderful daughter to two, meaningful parents, and a friend to man, if he had any strength left he would have laughed, hard, at the beauty of the situation, but he could not as he slipped into unconsciousness.