Naoto and Hayase ate largely in silence, their meals having been brought not long after the usually bratty woman had managed to properly convey her feelings through words for the first time.

Still stunned by Naoto's brazen use of Nagatoro's own medicine against her, she quietly contemplated her next move as she enjoyed a piece of fatty tuna.

Hayase had only managed to make it this far, essentially, on Naoto's generosity, rather than her own merits, which made her concerned that no real progress had taken place.

But how was she meant to further her own signs of atonement, without being put into a dicey situation by him? At most, left to her own devices, she could prove herself to be friendly, leaving her abrasive personality behind, but was that enough?

Nagatoro didn't think so.

Having dreamed so long of the chance of reuniting with him and rekindling the relationship they never really got to have, Nagatoro had somewhat failed to consider how to proceed past this stage.

But now that she had gotten here, the woman thoroughly understood how much she had to make up for.

After all, what she had done was by the standard of any decent human being unforgivable.

Even if one were to charitably leave her most heinous offence out of their recollections of her life, she'd still be left with a solid pile of monstrous actions toward her beloved, for no other reason than her inability to let herself be seen as vulnerable and emotional.

In her own, completely and utterly messed up way, she had just been a shy girl in the end, wanting the guy she fell in love with to notice her.

But the monsters in her head had continued to push her further along a toxic path that saw no real way out of the maddening descent into an unending spiral of hurting him through her painful antics, making him forgive her through some cute behavior he was incredibly weak to and then watching his confidence slightly build, just to repeat it all again.

While this had already been awful enough on its own, with Nagatoro having constant nightmares of Naoto growing wise to her never relenting nature and leaving her, what the woman hadn't realized at the time was that she herself, was growing more and more desperate for him.

There was a real divine poetic feel to the fact that Nagatoro wanted nothing more than for Naoto to grow brave enough to take the first step toward deepening their relationship, while at the same time slowly eroding his ever lacking self confidence with each passing day, ensuring it would never work out that way.

Their lives had become a perfect storm, slowly brewing in the distant, waiting for its moment to strike and uproot the existence of those in its path.

After all, Nagatoro was just a teenager like any other at that time. Puberty hit her as well. Especially given how, outside of Naoto, no other person had ever made her feel the emotions, needs and desires he had saddled her with.

This all had been new. It was exciting. It was also downright maddening how much she craved his affection and physical closeness, only to push him away herself any time he might have had the chance to make a move.

Being trapped in this never ending, vicious cycle, Nagatoro grew restless. She became absolutely desperate.

Here was a boy who had captured her heart and soul, from who she wanted nothing more than to open up to her and love her as deeply as she had fallen for him, yet the demon inside her ensured that she could never let her guard down, just in case Naoto would throw an absolutely massive curveball and not end up feeling the same way about her.

Worst of all, she had started to run out of time.

Naoto would graduate by the end of the year, leaving her behind. If she hadn't made a move by then, the likelihood of Naoto remaining clueless about her true intentions and moving past her was too great to consider.

Nagatoro had become scared out of her mind at that point. Her sleeping became irregular, her club activities largely suffered and even her pretty decent academic results ended up taking a turn for the worse.

Soon enough, her family began receiving phone calls from school staff, worrying about Hayase's sudden, drastic decline in all sorts of area. She had never been a model student, but was still regarded as above average by her teachers and those that knew her.

A sharp drop in performance like this was bound to picked up on even by the densest of the faculty.

Alas, her parents had no idea what could possibly have led to their daughter falling so far, in such a short time and Nagatoro refused to share this information with her friends.

The only one who had an inkling was her sister, Misaki, who had already met Naoto and knew that Hayase was smitten with him, but even she didn't consider the possibility that all of this was caused by that boy.

Being now under constant surveillance, by people who wanted nothing but the best for her, Nagatoro felt herself pushed even further into a corner.

It seemed like all eyes in the world were on her, spurring her on to step up her game and dig her claws into the boy of her dreams, so that she could return to the standards they had set for her.

If she didn't push him, didn't force his hand and drive him to take action, he would leave without her.

All she had to do was talk to him.

But she couldn't do that. Anything but that.

The demon inside her laughed at the notion of using words, when actions would come across so much clearer. The hissing in her head grew louder with each passing day, a never ending buzzing of a thousand angry bees, screaming in rage for her to make a move, before it was all too late.

During every tender and sweet moment they shared, the droning increased in severity. Like being strapped down to a table, being tortured with a drill taken to her skull, she could feel her heart pounding in her throat and her blood rushing through her ears at an alarming rate that threatened to drive her insane.

With every passing day, each new and unique situation they found themselves in, Nagatoro could feel herself growing more brazen, fueled by her slipping sanity.

She needed to feel Naoto's gaze on her. She wanted his hot breath on her skin, his flush face mere inches away from her own, his hand awkwardly fumbling to find a hold of something on her.

And all the while, the screaming in her head never stopped. There was no moment of quiet, no instance of peace she could find solace in. It was an all consuming, will eroding depravity she could not drown out.

Towards the end, before her mind finally collapsed under the ever mounting pressure, Hayase found herself crying most nights, begging for the mental exhaustion to take her and let her sleep, just to escape the incessant noise for a moment.

Was love supposed to feel this way? She didn't know. She had nothing else in her life to compare it to.

It was terrifying.

Never had the girl felt so scared, driven to the edge of a gaping maw, threatening to swallow her whole, with the promise of love from the boy she adored, if she just took that final step.

Despite the brilliant fight she had put up against her own internal monster, beating it back inch by inch for as long as she could hold out, eventually she fell victim to it.

Worn down, both physically and mentally by the never ending onslaught from all facets of her life, Nagatoro gave into the depravity, letting her demon take full control.

All she had to do was talk to Naoto.

All it would have taken were three wonderful words.

In the present, Nagatoro would like to think she could push past such mental hardships and express herself the way she had just done, or hell, even the way she had apologized to Naoto and once again confirmed her feelings to him when he fell chasing after her.

But the Hayase back then wasn't the one in the here and now. That girl had been weak. Despite her façade, presenting herself as this untouchable, head strong and downright intimidating girl, who's path you'd never wanted to cross, she had still been too weak after all.

And now her present self would have to take the responsibility for it. She was more than willing to make up for her past shortcomings, no matter how long it would take.

As long as Naoto would eventually be able to return her love to him, she'd never be without a drive, a purpose.

But it would take time, so much time. It would require so much more than what she could do within the short few days she still had left in Tokyo, before having to return to her studies.

Nagatoro had to push further.

"Hey, Senpai," she suddenly addressed Naoto, making him slowly place a fork full of food back on his plate. "Uhm, I know it's maybe asking a bit much, but- uhm..."

Naoto was about to try and encourage her, with some potential teasing of his own again, but was swiftly halted by Nagatoro raising her hand, to imply she wanted to do this on her own.

"I wanted to ask if- well, uh- If I could come v-visit you again as soon as possible."

Hayase could tell, by the hot sensation on her face, that the tan on her skin could not hide the bright red shades she was spotting now.

But it didn't matter to her. She was happy and excited, having taken another step toward communicating with Naoto in a healthy and loving way.

Naoto cocked his head, an expression on his face akin to a curious cat, watching a bird sitting in its nest. He was somewhat blown away by how much the woman was actually trying, despite him having already come to terms with his fate.

"Wouldn't that cost you a lot of money?" Naoto asked, trying to think of any hotels around the area that didn't cost an arm and a leg to rent for even a night.

Nagatoro could feel herself clamming up, as the next step had to be taken.

"Y-Yeah it would. Unless... I could stay at your place?"

Despite desperately wanting to be swallowed up whole by the ground below her, Nagatoro managed to keep eye contact with Naoto, who had raised one of his eyebrows at the suggestion.

"Interesting," he merely responded at first in a disinterested voice, making Hayase sweat with anxiety. "That's quite a jump from 'sorry for what I did' to 'can I stay at your place and maybe do it again'."

Nagatoro winced at the remark, thinking that she should have seen something like that coming. After all, he was right. This was quite the overconfident step to be taking.

Did she just blow it?

But truly, Nagatoro had no idea how little care Naoto had for it all at this point. Today was just that kind of day.

His feelings and thoughts toward his world and surroundings fluctuated constantly nowadays, almost at random.

It was the sort of thing his therapist used to prescribe him medication for, but stopped after it had become apparent Naoto refused to take them, due to his hatred for the way they made him feel alien to even himself.

This had never been a huge issue, even becoming somewhat of a blessing in disguise when it allowed him to write all kinds of songs, depending on the world view he had at that moment.

But, as it would turn out, dealing with a woman desperately in love with you, was definitely the kind of situation where a helping hand was needed, to keep him consistent and caring about his own existence.

"Sure, I guess," Naoto finally said, earning him a flabbergasted expression from Hayase. "If you don't mind sleeping on the couch and being woken up at like eight every morning. I'll have to ask the others."

Nagatoro wanted to say she didn't hear right, or that she had a mental breakdown and simply heard what she wanted to hear.

But eventually, it did set in, that he had just given her to okay to visit him and stay at his place.

Her face lit up like a child on Christmas eve and she found herself reaching over the table to grab Naoto's hand, squeezing it gently in her own.

Naoto flinched slightly at the interaction, something that Hayase in her elated stupor failed the notice, but it wasn't enough of a shock to lash out at her. He had gotten used to her and Gamo being weirdly touchy with him in the past few days.

"Thank you, Senpai~" she crowed in delight, slowly stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. "I was really worried about having to leave again after all of this. I know, I have a lot to make up for. I promise I won't make you regret it."

Naoto felt his heartbeat quickening in response to the intimate physical contact. Whether it was due to him enjoying it or his anxiety managing to manifest, despite the otherwise non functional emotional responses of his, he couldn't say.

He just knew that his body was responding to Nagatoro's actions, for any number of potential reasons.

Hayase herself managed to finally take note of the sweat beading on Naoto's forehead and even had the wherewithal to think of checking his pulse with her thumb, allowing her to feel his erratic heartbeat.

"Heh, what's this Senpai?" she asked, a playful grin on her face. "Are you excited at the idea of me staying at your place? Or is me holding your hand a little much for you?"

Nagatoro wanted to kick herself internally for falling into her old habits of teasing him, even though she had managed to leave out any negative or mean additions, which she would have most definitely thrown in there years ago.

She shut her eyes for a moment, to take a deep breath and consider her next move.

There was the option to leave the situation as it was, let go off his hand and move on. But that would leave them at the same sort of relationship they used to have, which didn't end up well at all.

No, she had to give as much as she was taking.

Opening her eyes again to stare into Naoto's, she said, "Well, either of those would be just fine. Because it's the same for me Naoto. My heart's racing right now. Just holding your hand like this makes me so happy."

Her lips curled into a genuinely sweet smile, that managed to tug at Naoto's heartstrings. Perhaps this wouldn't be as bad as he had feared.

That's when he was suddenly and violently reminded of the sensation of Hayase roughly biting into his neck, moaning as she moved against his trembling body, Naoto unable to bring himself to make her stop.

Naoto quickly removed his hand from hers, his eyes vacantly staring at the spot where they had just been connected.

Nagatoro was taken off guard by the quick action and a little hurt by it as well, but she didn't want to show it. Clearly, something had happened behind Naoto's veneer to cause the reaction.

"What's wrong Naoto?" she asked quietly, not wanting to pressure him with her usual more boisterous tone.

Naoto didn't move or say anything, his eyes fixed in place, as sweat began drenching him.

Hayase noticed his breathing become ragged, his pupils began dilating and color started to drain from his face.

Nagatoro could feel her own anxiety kicking into overdrive at the thought that something severely wrong could be happening to him. She had never dealt with a panic attack or the like before and even the last time she was there for it, Tadano had taken care of Naoto, while Nagatoro herself had shut down.

Reminding her of that moment only caused her to feel even more guilt, considering herself unable to comfort the man she loved.

Unsure of what to do, but not willing to stick to nothing at all, Hayase quickly moved from her seat and sat down next to Naoto.

There was still no reaction from him.

Feeling completely out of her element, she hesitantly wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug, which only caused him to flinch against her.

This was her doing.

Naoto had been a nervous wreck for as long as she had known him, always fidgeting, messing with his glasses or stuttering hopelessly while talking to her.

But never had he shut down and reacted this intensely to any of her actions, let alone three times in such a short span of time.

This was her fault. She hurt him. She scarred him.

Even if he wanted to do his best, to give her a chance at redemption, his mind wasn't willing to cooperate it would seem.

Nagatoro could feel a wave of grief trying to pull her under and drown her, but she refused to give in. This wasn't about her. She had caused this pain and she did not have the right to let the anguish tear away at her.

Hayase would become his support pillar, the one to be by his side no matter how bad it got. She had to be. It was her responsibility.

"It's going to be okay Naoto," she hushed into his ear, lovingly stroking his back, hoping she could soothe him somewhat. "I-"

The knowledge that, almost without a doubt, memories of her were the reason for this sudden change stopped her for a moment, the guilt flooding her brain once again.

She wasn't going to cave in.

"I am right here. I am not going to hurt you. And I am not going to leave you either. I'll do whatever it takes to make this pain stop."

A small part of her, one she long since had thought she lost, came back to the surface. The last time she had felt like this, wanting to coddle and take care of someone, was when Naoto had gotten sick with the flu, after checking on her one day.

That same urge to nurse him back to health and ease his suffering at all cost came rushing back to her mind.

"I am sure you are scared. Maybe you're angry. I don't know. But I need you to know that I am not going to hurt you. I have never forgiven myself; I will never forgive myself for what I have done to you and honestly, you don't have to either. Because I will make up for it and you won't even think about it when all is said and done."

Feeling herself growing bold, her outpouring of affection having failed to kill her the way her demons had always warned about, the relief was almost unbearable.

Nagatoro finally realized, after almost six years of stupid mistakes, fumbled attempts at romance and one unbelievably monstrous action on her part, that she could still be the same strong, confident and in control woman she always wanted to be perceived as and be openly in love, without the need to hide from her true feelings.

If only she would have had this revelation three years prior.

Unfortunately, she did not, and thus Naoto was currently trapped in a mental hellscape of memories flashing past his mind like little strips of a movie, some of Nagatoro years ago, hurting him in ways he had never even considered possible, while others were glimmers of the now, like a ray of hope, breaking through the cracks of his mental self isolation.

Naoto could see Hayase next to him, right here, right now, doing her utmost to undo as much of the damage as she could, even if her means of going about it were clumsy at best. Despite her being the main cause of his grief, he couldn't help but be appreciative of her attempts. Maybe she was capable of loving him in a meaningful way after all?

Then, to his own surprise, there was a brief, yet comforting moment in which he saw Gamo sitting on the floor of the band's waiting room, doing her best to try and reconnect with him.

The thumping in his chest slowed down to a manageable tempo. His thoughts stopped being overloaded by fear and anxiety. The abhorrent things that had held him frozen in their clutches had finally released their grip on him and he could feel sensation returning to his body.

Naoto slowly turned his head, coming face to face with Nagatoro, who was watching him with nothing but love and empathy in her eyes.

His own stare was hollow and unreadable, as if he had just awoken from a long nightmare.

"You're going to be alright," she assured him, gently placing one of her hands on his cheek.

And while Naoto wanted nothing more than to believe her in this moment, he just couldn't bring himself to.

It felt as if nothing was ever going to be alright.

Even after consigning himself to this fate, considering Nagatoro the only one mad enough to still want to be with him, his mind was unwilling to let her get too close to him, without breaking down into a bubbling mess.

It wasn't her fault.

No, it was.

She was trying her best to prove herself to be more than capable of behaving in a kind and considerate manner. And yet Naoto couldn't help but feel emptiness outside of the few genuine moments of joy between them.

Because she hurt you!

Naoto let out a dry laugh, a few tears forcing his eyes to glisten as he tried to meet her gaze, yet somehow kept feeling the need to look away from her.

"Hey, Hayase," he suddenly shocked her, having only used her name a handful of times before. "What will you do if I just can't ever love you again?"

Nagatoro could feel her stomach churning in response to such a terrifying thought. What if Naoto could never bring himself to-

"Don't worry about that," she quickly responded. "T-That's not going to be an issue. I'll make it happen. No matter how long it takes."

Naoto managed to establish eye contact, without wavering, for just a moment, but it was all he had to see to know she was as seriously set on the task as a human being could possibly be.

Whether or not he believed it be possible was no longer a part of the discussion.

Hayase would either find a way to make it happen, or die trying.

Fifteen minutes later, the two were leaving the restaurant, having opted to save most of the food for later, as their appetite had understandably died after Naoto's shut down.

The night air had gotten a bit chilly, causing Nagatoro to shudder and zip up her jacket.

Naoto was actually outraged at the fact that he found his mind to be disappointed by the action, as if hadn't just emerged from another panic attack, brought on by the very woman his brain was now sobered to see covering up.

His life had to be a cruel and messed up joke.

Nagatoro, pushing herself to be more aware of Naoto and any potential signs of discomfort on his end, did in fact take note of his face changing to a rather disheartened expression, even if just for a moment.

While initially concerned that something else had triggered a negative memory of his, she quickly managed to put the dots together and couldn't help but blush, with a warm, fuzzy feeling filling her up.

Regardless of what happened between them, Naoto seemingly still desired her, at least physically.

It was a start.

"Do you want me to take you home, Senpai?" Nagatoro asked him, vehemently against the idea of letting Naoto leave by himself in his current state.

"I don't know," he responded, feeling awkward about having invited her, only to then react so violently to a memory of her. "I don't want you to have to go out of your way for this. It's getting late, it's already pretty dark and this is the city, you know how it-"

"Naoto," she interrupted him, her right hand placed on her hip, as she eyed him in disbelief. "Did you forget who you're talking to? I am not scared of no city at night. And I want to make sure you are safe above all else."

Naoto sighed at his feeble attempt at arguing with her. He should have known better.

"Alright then," he gave in, beckoning her to follow him. "Let's go."

Soon enough, both of them were sitting on a train heading toward the apartment building Naoto was living in with his band members.

The two were sitting across one another, staring out the window as the skyline blew by. It was just as relaxing as watching the city live and breathe, the way Nagatoro had done the day she arrived at the hotel. Tokyo was something else.

There were so many things Hayase wanted to say and ask, but she was compelled to simply sit silently and enjoy the time she was able to spend with the man she adored, even if the feeling wasn't mutual. Yet.

Naoto shut his eyes, hoping that just maybe, he would be able to get some rest from the mental fatigue he had been experiencing these last few days.

Unfortunately, the universe had no mercy on him.

His body was shaken, just a little bit, by the impact of another body letting itself fall onto the seat next to his. Slightly irritated, Naoto opened his eyes to check who had disturbed his rare, calm moment, only to spot the faces of some unsavory looking individuals in the window reflection. They had apparently boarded at the last station and decided to sit next to him and Hayase.

Wanting nothing to do with them and thankful that their stop would be coming up soon, Naoto resolved to just ignoring them and continue his city gazing.

That was, until they addressed Nagatoro.

"Ey, what's up babe?" the guy next to her suddenly said, a cocky smile on his lips. "You've been looking at our fine city like someone who's never seen its wonders before. We could show you around."

Nagatoro reacted very similarly to how Naoto had seen her do before, upon being the target of unwanted advances: Her mood quickly soured, her expression turning to one of clear disdain and she refused to humor the cause of her displeasure.

"Nah, I am good," she simply said, refusing to look them in the eyes.

But instead of taking the hint, the man next to Naoto leaned forward, an uncomfortable and downright gross sounding chuckle leaving his lips.

"Come on darling, you're dressed to party, I can tell. No need to be shy around us. We can show you a really good time."

Naoto thought back to the time when something similar had happened once before and he, of all people, was the one to step in and give Nagatoro an out.

Was she expecting him to do the same here? Did he care enough to?

Of course, he did. That wasn't even a question in the end.

What she did to him was horrendous and left its permanent marks, but that would never excuse his own inactivity in a case like this.

Plus, a not too insignificant part of him suddenly seemed to be growing rather protective of her, when only last night he was certain that seeing her with another man wouldn't have fazed him.

Naoto hated his own mind. Sincerely and utterly despised it.

Just as Nagatoro was about to face the two idiots and tell them to screw themselves, Naoto beat her to the punch.

"She's with me," he said, trying to sound as confident as possible while staring the man next to him down.

He could tell that they weren't impressed.

"A small shrimp like you?" the guy besides him scoffed. "The fuck would she want with you? Ain't nothing to ya."

The second one stifled a laugh as he pointed toward Nagatoro with his thumb. "Yeah, she looks like a real feisty one. You couldn't handle someone like that."

Once again, he recalled the boys sitting besides the girls that day, how they had mocked him for trying to butt into their attempts at flirting with Nagatoro and her friends. He had faltered just a smidgen that day, with Nagatoro backing him up before he had managed to recover his courage.

It wouldn't be the same tonight.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Naoto said while standing up, extending his hand toward Nagatoro who was absolutely floored by his sudden display of bravery.

Without hesitation, she took a hold of his warm hand and allowed him to pull her off the seat. The both of them walked past the two goons, who were far too astonished to even make another comment.

Luckily, the train halted not soon after that and Naoto quickly led Hayase onto the platform. The moment the train left, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face the rails again.

Nagatoro blinked a few times in confusion, before asking him, "Uh, why are you waiting? Aren't we here?"

Naoto looked at her, a wry smile on his face.

"No, this isn't the right stop," he admitted, awkwardly scratching his face. "Those guys just seemed like trouble, so I wanted to make sure we'd be rid of them. Plus, I didn't want them to know where we were actually getting off. In case they'd end up being some gang dudes. Who knows?"

Nagatoro nodded, a slightly surprised expression on her face, which quickly turned to one of concern.

"Ah, you- Man. You were scared, weren't you?" she asked in a surprisingly sympathetic tone, something that made Naoto's eye twitch a little bit.

"N-No," he tried to retort, feeling a bit ashamed at the breaking of his voice. "I am just cautious, you know? And I mean, if anything, the-"

"Stop!"

Nagatoro had wrapped her arm around Naoto's, pulling him gently toward her to interrupt him from continuing his excuses.

"You don't have to lie to me Naoto," she said, looking into his eyes as if she were trying to enter his soul. "If anything, doing something like that, despite being scared, is incredibly brave. I thought you were cool."

Naoto felt himself relaxing, fully unaware of just how tense his entire body had been since he dared to speak up on the train.

"Yeah, I was scared," he admitted to her, a somber smile crossing his lips. "I am still just a beansprout, after all. Nothing to write home about. Not someone you'd want to back you up in a fight."

Nagatoro gave him a genuinely loving smile. "I don't think so. You know what I think? If it comes down to it and you're with your back against the wall, wanting to protect someone you care about, you're the type of person to go wild."

"Huh!?"

Naoto fully turned to her now, pulling his arm away from her.

"I am sorry," he countered, an incredulous look on his face. "I think you may have mistaken me for another Hachiouji."

Nagatoro giggled and took a step toward him, placing her index finger gingerly on his chest.

"No, I don't think so," she cooed softly, her cheeks reddening. "I think my Senpai would always have my back. Because he is really brave when he cares about something. He is just that kind of cool guy."

Naoto could feel his brain melting, reducing itself to mush as she continued to lay into him with a whole new form of torture.

Hearing nothing but positive and disgustingly sweet words come from Nagatoro drove him crazy, his heart racing, trying its utmost to keep up with the requirements of his body.

This is all he had ever wanted from her.

Reassurance. A true, honest display of affection that let him know she valued and loved him. No strings attached, absolutely nothing to gain for her. Just selfless love.

It infuriated him, now that he had finally gotten it.

"Why now!?" he yelled to no one in particular, making Nagatoro jump backwards a few inches.

"W-What's wrong!?" the woman stammered, not having expected this sort of reaction from her attempts at making Naoto look at himself in a better light.

She could tell by the way his face was contorting and seemingly burning up with some emotion, that whatever was going on in his head couldn't be good.

"Why would you do this now!? I don't understand! Why couldn't you do this years ago! Why did you-"

Naoto couldn't contain his sudden outburst of anguish, absolutely torn by the fact that she had given him the love he had sought far too late.

"I loved you so damn much! You had to do nothing but ask and I would have given you everything you wanted from me!"

Nagatoro recoiled in panic, the combination of Naoto suddenly breaking out into a loud tone in public, mixed with the actual message he was conveying, making her want to scream at him to just shut up.

Naoto suddenly saw the world in a bright, red hue, just wanting to tear into Nagatoro for anything and everything she had ever done to him.

Did he have the time for it? The next train was almost here and he wanted to make sure the people on it wouldn't catch sight of this.

The man could no longer hear himself, as he continued to berate Nagatoro for seemingly no reason other than being exceedingly nice.

You're such a jackass.

There was so much to say, but the train came ever closer.

This vile, unbearable feeling of absolute hatred that had suddenly overtaken Naoto's mind, was now threatening to swallow him whole as he tried to think of any means at all to verbally attack the woman before him for her past transgression.

You're going to make her cry, just the way she did.

Only a few more seconds before he'd have to stop to get on the train.

A single, gut wrenching tear appeared in Nagatoro's eye as she accepted all the vitriol Naoto spewed at her, without attempting to strike back even once.

She wanted to. By god, did she want to tear into him and absolutely crucify him for the hurtful things he dared to throw her way.

But she had given her word. She would care for him and love him with everything she had, until the moment that he could forget all that she had done to him.

She will never punch back.

For the first time since their reunion, Naoto took a step back and realized that this once, he was in the wrong.

She had done nothing wrong this time and there was no reason for the mean spirited lashing he had just given her.

How could he tell her that he was willing to let her stick around him, to atone for the things she had done, only to then turn around and emotionally abuse her himself?

Naoto's eyes widened as he realized that he had simply become another monster himself.

Just one more piece of filth added to those already roaming the earth.

If Nagatoro were to stay by his side, he would just end up hurting her repeatedly, without her ever putting up a fight.

It was disgusting.

He was disgusting.

You are disgusting.

The train came into the station.

Naoto turned toward the rails.

You are a monster.

His body shook with anger and pain, every single horrible thing he had said to the woman since her arrival replaying in his mind. He didn't deserve her attempts at redemption. He wasn't worthy of anyone's time or love.

He recalled every instance of people telling him how worthless his existence was, from the very moment that he could remember. Every single sneer, their laughter, the unending belittling.

The idea that he could simply forget them all by not paying them any mind had been so naïve, from the very start. It was a silly little hope.

Worse yet, he agreed with them all.

At the center of it, one lone girl that had hurt him so much more than any of the rest, despite loving him more intensely than he could ever have anticipated.

Do it.

Naoto shut his eyes and took a step forward.