Your Protector

Chapter 40

Five days. That poor boy had been trapped in his basement for five days. He was trapped in there for a year, and Lord knows how long Taro was going to be trapped down there.

He was holding onto false hope. It was no use trying to fight against an Aishi, they'll always find a way to get into your head. They're sneaky, sly, and vile.

Jokichi hated to refer to his son as a vile, sly creature, but it's just what his mother was. She was nothing but a snake that had the mask of an innocent kitten. She had everyone fooled, including him.

After her trial case, she was pitied by everyone in school. She used to be considered an average schoolgirl by her peers; she was quiet, introverted, and shy, so most of the student body ignored her existence. Until she was accused of murder.

Everybody suddenly paid attention to her, she became the new talk of the school, but it wasn't enough for her. Despite suddenly having so many friends and supporters behind her, her heart was set on obtaining one thing. Him.

She was too afraid of rejection. It was not like she came out flawless from the trial, there were still those who believed the man that accused her. Jokichi stayed mostly in the middle. The victim was his friend, but the thought of some girl killing her out of jealousy for his affection was too ludicrous to believe.

Turns out it wasn't that ludicrous. A week later, she lured him away at the end of school and drugged him. He woke up tied to that damn chair in that damn basement.

She went to work destroying his mind, turning him into a mindless slave for her. He existed to appease her, to give her everything that she wanted, but she never showed him any love or compassion in return. Her idea of love was to treat him like a god, but a god that was held by chains.

Eventually, he couldn't fight back. His mind had succumbed to her mind games, and he vowed to remain loyal to her.

He was finally released from his prison. He returned home to his parents who were in hysterics to see him in the flesh, alive and well.

It didn't take Ryoba long to weasel her way into his parent's hearts. They fell in love with her like the country did. They believed her to be a perfect bride for their son, so they encouraged him to court her, not knowing that they were encouraging him to court a madwoman.

But Jokichi couldn't fight back. There was nothing else left to fight for, so he just accepted his fate. For the next six months, they were basically inseparable. Ryoba was always with him, either at his house or at hers.

When she felt it was time, she went out and bought a ring, stuck it on his finger, and more or less asked him to be her husband. And he said yes—the greatest regret he will ever carry. He was now, truly, stuck with her.

He always wanted to get married and have children, but he imagined doing that with a woman who wasn't psychotic. Can't win them all, I guess.

After their wedding, she was quick to get him in the sheets. Shockingly, she wanted them to wait for their first time to be on their wedding night. Jokichi feared for his virginity the entire time he was tied to that chair. Though, he sometimes wished she would just get it over with it, instead of making him dread it.

He recalled it being miserable. Who would enjoy sharing such an intimate moment with their kidnapper? But he was willing to let her take control, grope every inch of his body. Back then, he hoped it was the only thing that could possibly bring him any happiness. But he was a fool to believe that.

After the birth of their son, Jokichi hoped that the face of his darling child would bring a much needed smile to his face. But then he quickly learned that Ayato was just like Ryoba, or at least was headed down that path. Nothing terrified him more than his son growing up to be exactly like Ryoba, so he tried his hardest to make Ayato change, to keep him from becoming his mother.