Snippet #2479468

Ryuchi finally looked up at her. "I love you; that's why I had to suffer without you. Dammit, Rosalie, you've got all your memories back, right? You almost died, Reina almost died," he said, visibly struggling to keep that memory as far from himself as possible. "You were were in a coma after that last fight...Reina, she'd...she was lost in her own mind trying to wake you up. I couldn't put you or her at risk, any more than I already had. I had to deal with Azrael on my own without you two getting caught in the crossfire. And I didn't want you remembering all of those horrible things that happened after we got back to this time. So I had Endalia take it from you, and Reina, but her powers... they rejected the memory erase.

"I didn't want to leave you, Rosalie, I didn't, but Magic...it comes at a price. In order to wipe those memories she had to wipe everything, including me and Reina....she would have been with you had the memory erase worked, so her being in your presence now negated the process…Look, I don't expect you to forgive me, but I wanted you safe. I needed you safe. I found Azrael; he's in Hell where he belongs. I've been trying to find you since that day but I didn't want to overload you. I knew Reina's power would wake you up too soon, when you approached me, I had to hide it. I'm sorry, Rose…there isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret leaving you, but you...."

Ryuchi stopped to compose himself. Taking a deep breath he rubbed his face as if to try and wipe away the negative thoughts. "I couldn't lose you. You kept me human. Even if you weren't with me, just knowing you were alive was enough..." he said, shifting his gaze back to the ground. "If it's any consolation...I came back for you."

Rosalie was overwhelmed. She had been spared the pain and the struggle with her memory gone, even though she always felt that a piece of her was missing, but Ryuchi had had to endure it for all this time. He had sacrificed her memory and his happiness to keep her safe and alive. At least he'd still had Reina, so not all of his happiness was gone. Rosalie was still upset, but now she understood why he had done it. However…

"You idiot," she chuckled softly. "You know I would've come out of that coma right away. I'm pretty strong." She touched his cheek and gently stroked his skin. Her heart pounded emphatically at the contact; she felt complete again. "I would rather have suffered those horrible memories than be separated from you or Reina for one minute."