Ruri struggled to open her eyes. She had to shut them again because it was too much strain for her to so.
The ground beneath her was cold and rock hard. She figured she was lying on concrete.
She slowly opened one eye. Her vision was blurred; she could decipher colours and shapes but not the actual object itself.
Something lay motionless beside her. She identified it to be a pale pink, purple and black. She blinked continuously, forcing her eyesight to readjust. It became clearer with each blink.
It was then she realised it was another person, someone she knew.
"Yu..."
"Ruri?"
The girl froze, that voice was so familiar.
'Is that...'
She shifted her head, careful to not scrape her chin against the pavement.
A tall man stood not too far from where she was, it seemed like his feet were glued to the floor. He didn't move an inch; he just stared at her as though he was uncertain if she was actually there or not. His eyes were wide and his mouth was agape.
"Shun...?" the girl tried to push herself up. Any feeling she had in her arms had disappeared when she put weight on it; she just dropped back onto the ground.
"Ruri!" the older male ran towards her weakened form. He kneed down beside her.
"Ruri." he mumbled. He grasped her by her wrist, gently pulling her up.
Her legs wobbled, she lost her balance and fell into her brother's chest. She grasped his shoulders for support. She could feel him trembling.
She lifted her head to look at Shun's face. Tears glimmered in his eyelashes. They build up in his eyelids, threating to spill like an overfilled dam. The only time Ruri saw Shun come even close to crying was, well, never.
He wrapped his arms around his sister, bringing her into an embrace.
"When I was told Ray was revived and you were sacrificed to do it... I thought I'd never see you again." his voice wavered a little, but he had managed to compose himself.
Ruri burrowed her head in his chest. "It's okay." her voice was muffled in Shun's coat. "I'm here now. It's okay."
She couldn't stop repeating those two sentences.
She didn't know why, whether it was to comfort her brother or herself she wasn't sure. When those words echoed inside her head, it seemed like they meant nothing, that they were just an anticipated wish that would never come to be.
But when she said it out loud, it seemed like it could actually be true. When it was put vocally, when her own words enter her ears, it truly seemed like they had actual meaning.
If she just saw or heard Shun it would've just been passed off as her imagination playing tricks on her. But she could psychically feel Shun hold her in his arms, proof that this wasn't an illusion.
Ruri would grip on as hard as she could, and refused to let go.
A groan was from beside them. Ruri shifted her head to the forgotten person who still lay on the cold ground.
He slowly raised their head. "Shun..." his eyes widen, "Ruri!"
Yuto struggled to push himself off the ground; his arms trembled to hold him up.
Shun unwrapped his arms around Ruri. He placed one hand on his friend's shoulder and the other grasping the boy's hand. He helped him sit up.
"Where are we?" Yuto groaned, rubbing his eyes.
