Time ceased to exist.
Somewhere, something hurt. Or maybe it was everywhere. He couldn't tell. He was distantly aware of when his hands lost their grip around the silver-colored bat. The boy hadn't wanted to let go; it was as though someone had wrenched the precious object from his grasp.
The bat was important, he tried to remind himself. It had belonged to his friend's older brother. She would be upset if he lost it. He had to..had to...to
"I'm falling?" As scared as he was, there was something funny about it all and his thought came more as a remark than a question. Of course he was falling; it was only natural, right?
There was a low "clang" when the bat hit the ground and to the boy, there was something definitive about the sound of aluminium meeting the damp forest floor.
And then he was looking at the dark sky above him with his back against the cold earth. For a moment all he could feel was tranquillity. Something wasn't right though; why were they crying?
Even [i]she[/i] was crying, her emerald eyes filled with unspeakable anguish and regret. And to the boy, there would never be anything even half as beautiful as the angel before him.
There were things that never would be spoken, he sadly realized and reached out, gently placing a bloodstained hand over the girl's.
"Uso da, uso da! That Kei-chan will die here..." she whimpered desperately, hugging his hand.
[i]A lie?[/i]
No, Keiichi thought and smiled sadly.
[i]Not this time, Mion...[/i]