A/N: I'm sick, so let's hope this goes a little better today than I think it is. T_T

Also, I'm trying a new writing style, so I apologize if each part is a bit short. I'm not used to it, so I apologize in advance.

Droite

I despised summer. I really did. The only purpose it served was to make my skin prickly and ache from the sun, draining my body of the fluids it so desperately needed. It was irritating, very much so, hence why I had decided to take the car to get to the picnic Yuma was having today. Gauche had already left earlier that morning to help out with his younger friend (how he managed to keep up with the hyperactive teen, I would never know), so I was left to get there at a somewhat late time. Growling to myself, I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for the turn signal.

It was a little bit before the cars started to move, and I turned onto another street, going deeper into Heartland City. Traffic was lighter than I thought it would be, but it was still maddening when the chance idiot driver decided to not obey the laws of the road. I didn't want to run too late; suspicion might arise and I'd end up having to take a call from each of my friends.

Sighing, I wondered why Yuma was having a picnic in the first place. Sure, it had been six months since the end of the war, but all of us had kept in contact with each other, somewhat. I'd been talking to Kaito a little more often since Gauche insisted on visiting Haruto all the time, but other than that, I hadn't thought to contact any of the others. I didn't have the time, quite frankly; between my job as Gauche's manager and trying to repair my bond with Kaito, there was little time to have to myself.

I checked the time, which was on my dash. Already it was four-thirty. Jeez. I didn't have long until the picnic officially started, and I was still a good three or four kilometers from the park still. The radio was turned to the news, so I blankly listened to a report of a reckless driver in the area, who was possibly drunk, and the authorities were advising people to be on the lookout. I sighed again; idiots.

Turning another corner, I kept my eyes on the road, humming a song to myself. Crossing an intersection, I dimly heard the roar of an engine before metal slammed into metal. Before I realized what had happened, I had blacked out.

…

…

Kaito

The sun beat down on the back of my neck. Shifting uncomfortably, I gazed at the watch on my left wrist. Almost four-forty-five; and still, Yuma insisted on waiting until Droite got here before the celebrations began. She was probably fine; she was a woman, and women typically took forever to get themselves ready. So I just assumed that she was running late because of that.

"Yuma," Ryouga began, gritting his teeth, "Can we just get this damn party started? I'm starving and, quite frankly, I don't give a damn if she gets here late!"

The younger boy complained, "But, Shark!" he yelled. "She's important to our group, too, y'know!"

I sighed, leaning my elbows on the picnic table I sat at with Haruto. Yuma was insistent on these things. "I'm sure she's fine, Yuma," I spoke. This caught his attention, and, with some difficulty, he dropped the subject. Shaking my head, I pulled at the collar of my dark blue t-shirt; I was pretty warm in the clothing Haruto had forced me into (as did my father—he said that I needed to start acting like a normal adult now). My little brother was kicking his feet back and forth, waiting for food and smiling.

"Nii-san, you like Droite, don't you?" the little boy suddenly asked me. I turned to him with a solemn expression, even if I was surprised by the question.

"Only as a friend, Haruto," I replied. Still, he didn't seem to believe me and continued humming to himself, a love song he had heard on the radio recently. Rolling my eyes, I resumed watching the rest of the group: Rio and Kotori were busy chatting happily with each other (typical girl behavior), the band of idiots (Ryouga, Gauche, and Yuma) were running around playing Frisbee, while anyone else (such as the former Barian Lords—they stayed around each other most of the time) lingered around, observing the other groups do their thing. It wasn't very fun… yet, but I was beginning to doubt why I was here in the first place.

"K-Kaito-sama," Orbital piped up from underneath the table. He sounded odd, but then again, he was a robot, so…

"Orbital, I told you that I don't want you interrupting this," I grumbled at him, not caring to gaze down at him. Haruto was looking at the robot in curiosity.

"B-But Kaito-sama," Orbital went on, despite my previous statement, "I've been m-monitoring the news channels, a-and it sounds like there's been a crash nearby."

"And why should I care?" I questioned rather harshly. Orbital extended his neck from underneath to table to look at me.

"J-Just look, Kaito-sama." A screen popped up in front of us, showing a rather gruesome car accident. A blue car had been t-boned by a rather large pickup truck, the driver's side completely torn off. I recognized that blue car; I think that might be Droite's vehicle. It was a helicopter view, so any of the bodies that had been thrown out of the vehicles couldn't be shown, but there was one clearly that had been ejected.

Shit, this is bad. If that really was Droite's car, then—well, I didn't want to think about that right now. "Guys," I called out to the groups floundering around. "Look at this news report."

Everyone came to reside around the table. Yuma was horrified, almost as much as Gauche was—which gave me my answer; that car was indeed Droite's, and by the looks of it, she had been ejected from the vehicle during the collision.

"Does it say where the victims are being taken?" Gauche asked, his voice laced with worry. I looked back at him over my shoulder.

Eh, a few illegal acts in the name of a good friend wouldn't be a problem. "Orbital, try and locate where the victims of the crash are being taken," I ordered the robot, standing and getting away from the table and the group of people that had been around me.

"But, Kaito-sama—"

"I know the risks, but do it anyway." Helping Haruto off the bench, I started for my own car. "We'll meet her there."

…

…

Droite

The light was blinding as I opened my eyes. At first, I thought I was in a dream; the sun rained down rays of warmth, filling my body with a sense of content. Then it became apparent that I was no longer in my car, and that I was laying on the burning black surface of the road. My skin was on fire, feeling like it was melting into the tar. Unable to move, I stared blankly sideways, the side of my face scraped from the ground. I couldn't even blink, I was in so much pain.

My heart was sluggish; I could feel it trying to cling on to each electrical pulse. It was getting weaker, however, and my lungs were failing to comply with the pump. Air filled my body only twice before I couldn't expend anymore energy to do so. Blood dripped out the corner of my mouth and onto the pavement, where a growing puddle of my own life force was taking shape.

People were running around, but their blurred forms and garbled language made no sense to my dying brain. I could feel myself on the edge, almost there, but almost not. My heart grew weaker, and soon, only the top of it could manage to pump blood.

No! I don't want to die! I don't want to…

My pleas went unheard. A bright light was shone in my eyes, but I made no move to respond. Whoever did the action straightened out my body and lifted me onto something, but I was no longer even relatively coherent, so I just went along with whatever was happening.

Even though my eyes were open, I began to see darkness. It filled every corner of my vision, engulfing my mind even as my heart stopped and a shrill noise went off in the background.

NO! Please…

But it was too late.

A/N: Depressing first chapter! Anyway, smack that review button with your face! :D