This could be seen as a continuation to Fallen Knight.

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"Yuto!" Ruri shouted, when she caught sight of the purple haired boy. Her heart pounded faster at the sight of him, but it was already beating abnormally as tears were running down her face.

"Ruri?" Yuto said, "Did you visit-" He couldn't finish his question. Ruri ran straight into him, wrapping her arms around him tightly, and burying her face in his chest. She didn't mean to smear her tears on his shirt, but she needed him to hold her.

"It's still hard," she sniffed, tightening her hold. His arms wrapped around her as she wept again.

After the war they fought in, no matter how tough Ruri was during that time, the result left her pained and scarred. Even though it ended in their favor and the people of Heartland were able to rebuild everything, Ruri couldn't contain her sorrow. This girl could not forget the loss of her brother.

"He's proud of you," he rubbed her back, trying to comfort her as best as he could.

"Uh, huh," she mumbled into his shirt.

Yuto looked down at her and started gently caressing her arms when she loosened her hold on him. "We can cancel our date today." Although he wasn't too happy to say those words, her well being was more important than their date.

"No, I'll be fine." She met with his eyes and smiled through her tears, "promise!" She released herself from the hug and took his arm in her hand.

"Ruri..."

Yuto stopped and Ruri pulled. She wished to go on this date with him. But when the boy of her dreams didn't budge, she turned around, already planning a way to make him follow.

"Ruri..." His voice shook as well as his eyes. "Something's wrong."

He pressed his hand against his face. "Yuto!" Ruri shouted as Yuto slowly fell to his knees. She grabbed him just in time, trying to keep him from landing face first. "What's wrong?! What can I do?"

He began to scream in pain, his back releasing the wings he was able to hide when he didn't need them for protection or flight. The bones in his back cracked unnaturally until they were out, ripping his shirt in the process.

Ruri cringed at the disturbing sound.

A gasp escaped her, her eyes gluing themselves to his wings. The bones were mostly visible. Only a couple feathers remained, but they were barely holding on. His wings ripped his back, forcefully, causing blood to run down his back.

"No, Yuto, I can't lose you too!" She cried, squeezing his shirt. She brought him closer to her as they both slowly fell to their knees.

***

Ruri tried so hard to fall asleep. Every time she came close to a dream, her mind would start all over again and keep her up, but she continued to keep her eyes closed. She saw herself without Yuto over and over. She fought with the images in her head, but it never stopped showing her what lied ahead.

Her eyes shot open. She couldn't handle it anymore. The gray eyed boy watched her eyes grow wide as he ran his fingertips through her purple hair. She watched him carefully, hoping whatever happened had passed. But deep down, she knew, it was only the beginning.

It pained her to see the boy she cared about dearly lying there with no strength. His body was tearing him apart for the choices he had made during the war. But neither of them had a choice. They had to fight back or they would've lost our home and their lives.

But Yuto was losing his life.

We were all going to lose our lives soon.

"Yuto..." Ruri stood up, watching Yuto slip his hand away from her hair. She pressed her hands against his bed. "Let me see your wings."

Yuto's eyes grew wide and instantly glanced behind him, then pulled the blanket over his body. "Ruri...please."

Tears started streaming down her face. It was beginning to sink in that soon she would lose the boy she fell in love with. He had been with her through everything. She couldn't lose him. She couldn't lose another person in her life.

She had no one left.

Her wings were itching to come out. She couldn't contain them any longer and they released from her back. She felt the pressure as it ripped through her skin without her consent. A few feathers had already fallen, but the bone was not visible yet.

The tears didn't stop falling. Yuto shifted and tried to keep the blanket on his back as he tried to reach her face. But his wings slipped out when he finally wiped her tears away, smiling in defeat. He stood face to face with her as he held her face in his hands.

"Everything will be okay. You'll be okay," he assured her with every ounce of his being. Those gray eyes pleaded for her to stay strong.

She couldn't stare into his eyes for long. Her arms wrapped around his bare chest and held on tightly. A piece of his bone touched her skin. She shivered for a moment but continued to hold on.

Yuto closed his eyes, enjoying the embrace, even if it caused him pain. The wounds the wings created were throbbing, but it was worth it to have her that close. It wouldn't be long now, and he wanted her to be there with him until the end.

His breathing sped up and Ruri held on tighter, not knowing what to do. The waterworks began again and there was no control. She wrapped her wings around him like he used to do to her. The warmth that his white wings used to emit was all she wished for. But these dark wings had no temperature.

"How do we atone for our sins?!" She weeped. "We were only trying to protect our world, but-" Even the other side was sacrificing their lives to take our home. What could they gain when near death?

Ruri felt something on her arm and she slowly unwrapped her arms from Yuto's body, retracting her wings. She brought her arm in front of her face and spotted a small black feather. Picking it up, she held it between their faces.

"You only have one left," she murmured.

Yuto's breathing grew heavier, making Ruri worry even more. Was it time? Was it really the end?

The feather in her hand slowly flew to the floor. "There has to be a way!" Ruri cried.

"There isn't," he whispered, looking at the feather on the floor. He bent down to pick it up and twirled it between his fingertips. There was only one left and that meant he had minutes. It didn't sink in that he'd actually end up in this situation. Even though he had seen many people lose their feathers then their lives.

He had seen many people try to fight the natural way to continue living. Many did not succeed, but Yuto knew someone who discovered a way. But not without a sacrifice.

He chose to keep it from Ruri, because he knew she wouldn't think twice. Yuto wanted her to live a long, happy life, even if he wasn't in it. Since she didn't participate much in the war, she was the only one that had all her feathers at the end of the battle.

"No, there has to be!" Ruri held his hands in hers, pleading for an answer. The feather fell from his hand. He looked away, unable to hold her gaze. It was hard keeping that secret from her.

He sighed.

***

Ruri giggled, pulling Yuto with her as she ran through the street. Her cheerful energy made his heart happy. "Hurry up, we'll miss it!" She ran straight toward the ice cream truck. "Hi," Ruri said to the worker. "I'd like strawberry ice cream." She turned to Yuto waiting for him, but when he didn't say anything, she chose chocolate for him.

She handed him his ice cream and they walked away. Yuto couldn't stop watching her. Since the day he almost lost his life, he was closer to her. Every moment meant something to him.

"Let's go up there!" Ruri pointed at the heart that was on top of Heartland Tower. It was her favorite spot, Yuto and Ruri always spent their time there.

"We can't," he sounded disappointed. His eyes froze at the sight of her back and frowned.

"Yes, we can!" She held onto her ice cream with one hand and grabbed his hand with the other. She let her single wing release from her back, silently instructing him. Yuto squeezed her hand and trusted her, releasing the only wing he had left.

They flew up in sync and made it to the top of Heartland Tower.

"I can't believe you thought this would work," Yuto said, his eyes widening.

"Well, I thought it's the same thing, just someone else has the support for the second wing," she smiled as she took a spoon of her ice cream.

They flew together as if they were one and didn't share their wings to get somewhere. It felt natural.

Ruri waited for the sun to set as she finished her ice cream. She loved watching the sunset from up there. No matter how many times she did this with Yuto, she would never get tired of it.

Yuto tried to enjoy the sunset with her, but he couldn't keep his eyes away from her back. Her sacrifice had saved his life all those months ago. He couldn't stand to see her in pain anymore and gave her the information she wanted. It took him time to accept, but it was worth it to see the smile on her face.

"Yuto," she smiled, placing her cup beside them.

"Yeah?" he said, nervously, moving his hand. He knocked her cup over without realizing and it fell off the Heartland Tower.

"I hope that doesn't hit anyone," Ruri gasped. Yuto looked worried for a second, but then Ruri started laughing. She grabbed his hand and they stared into each other's eyes, smiling.

Yuto would always be forever grateful for Ruri.