In The End

Section 1: Chapter 7

Silvana heard the crack as Naoki fell against the water. She flinched and looked away, shaking her head. When she heard him scream, she was over the brow of the cliff. The waterfall was flowing to her left, splashing ice cold drops onto her side. She didn’t really want to look down - not because of the height, but because she didn’t want to see Naoki’s body.
She'd promised not to use her magic, but Silvana had a history of breaking promises.
She began to scramble down the rocks like a spider. She wasn’t being as careful as she would have liked, and she didn’t check if the rocks below her were stable. She tried to avoid looking at Naoki’s mangled body, but the glimpses she saw were enough. When she'd climbed down far enough, she looked for some softer ground, just to the side of the river. After what Naoki had done, she wasn’t going to jump into the river. She held onto the cliffside, preparing to push against the rock. As she shifted her weight, the rock she was holding onto dislodged and Silvana tumbled backwards.For a moment, Silvana’s brain was a blur of fear. She regained herself fast enough to see she was heading for a bramble bush.
Well, that was somewhat better than hard stone.
She spread her body out into a star shape, trying to land on her back. Only a moment later, she fell onto the bush, flattening it, and filling her limbs with thorns in the process. The thought that Naoki’s landing had hurt worse made Silvana feel no better. She picked herself up, hurting like hell, threw off her cloak, and stepped into the water. She could feel the cold numbing her limbs and stinging her wounds. She swam to the centre of the river, battling against the current, and grabbed Naoki's battered, barely alive body. She then tried to swim to the side, but the weight of his body was holding her back, and the current was so strong.
Damn it, Silvana. She had to be strong for him. He would have done the same for her.
It was hard to say whether Silvana grabbed the boulder or whether she was swept into it. She was briefly aware of a pain in her ribs before her breath was knocked out of her.
Somehow, she held onto it, wincing with pain, and threw Naoki’s body onto the riverbank. Silvana then tried to pull herself up. Her muscles burned, and every breath was worryingly painful. The first two times, she made it half way, but couldn’t summon the strength to pull herself the last little bit. On the third try, she pulled herself, sopping wet, onto the top of the rock. She sat there for a while, panting, She then turned to Naoki's battered body, lying next to her, and began to mutter the healing words again, fearing that she hadn’t been fast enough. White light flooded from her hands, and she could see his wounds begin to heal. His body seemed to grow from the bloody tangle of limbs it had been in previously into something resembling a human being. She could feel herself losing consciousness, but she tried as hard as she could to simply stay awake. She felt so sore, so sick, so dizzy. Her ribs did not feel good at all. And yet, she kept doing this until Naoki raised his head, looking at her gratefully. She vomited, and passed out in front of him.

..............

Naoki coughed up some water and finally took a breath. He coughed some more trying to clear his lungs. Then he got up and felt nothing but guilt. How could he do this... How could he be so reckless and let the girl get hurt, and make her use her magic on him. This was right out the most stupid and selfish thing he has ever done. He got up, and felt everything ache. Silvana clearly didn’t finish healing him.
"Damn this..." he whispered to himself. All the time he tried and failed her again and again. And if it wasn't for her he'd be dead. Twice. He owed her his life double now.
Instead he got to his feet. His foot felt better now. He grabbed her exhausted body, holding it tightly. He was so frustrated. He’d failed her - and she was just the latest in a long line of failures.
For the first time he let a few tears roll down his cheeks, glad she wasn't awake to see it. He hugged her closer, seeing a dim glow on her body as she healed. He took her deeper into the woods, wanting to make her recover as soon as possible. He finally laid her down on a grassy patch of land, with trees around her. The glow around her was very bright now. Naoki sat there and cried silently for a moment.
How could he…
He saw the girl move a little and stopped. He stood up and wiped his face, putting on his stoic emotionless mask. He leant on a tree, which stung his back a little. Still, it could have been worse, considering he’d pretty much impaled himself onto those rocks earlier on.