Nuki's Note:

Once again, another RimaxNagihiko fic! This one is sad though, and I guess I should put a warning...

WARNING! CHARACTER DEATH AND NO HAPPY ENDING

Even Angels Fall

Her hands squeezed the box tightly, the cold nipping at her bare fingers. She dug her nose into the sweet, rich scent of the heart shaped box. It was rare that she thought of others before herself, but this certain person was different from 'others'. He had made her chocolate in times before, thus she hoped that he would accept her small return gift. As she made her way down the sidewalk, ideas of just how to present the gift to him danced throughout her head. Perhaps she should just shove them at him…or maybe she should go for a kinder act.

His image eased its way into her thoughts. She could almost feel his warm eyes on her, or hear his soft, yet strong voice. Swept away in a dream, Rima could have sworn that just for a moment…she floated instead of walking. But she blinked, finding herself back on her two feet. Realizing her fallen guard, she shrugged off her fluttering emotions and continued walking. Her heart pounded just a tad more loudly as she approached his home- and at times she even stopped to make sure she was the only one who could hear it thumping madly against her ribcage.

Her pace came to a halt at the sight of a figure outside of Nagihiko's home. Her heart gave a lurch, but subsided when she realized the figure was not the one she was hoping for. Instead of a tall boy with flowing dark hair, she spotted a blonde, one significantly shorter than her object of affection. What was Tadase doing outside of Nagihiko's home? When the other blonde turned in her direction, he walked towards her. No- he sulked towards her. Rima frowned at the submissive state Tadase had before her.

"Mashiro-san…" He began sullenly, sending chills up Rima's spine.

"What is it, Tadase?" Rima replied solidly, ignoring the tension that the boy was building.

Tadase seemed to choke on his own words. "It's…its Fujisaki-san. He's in the hospital."

--

Nagihiko had always told Rima that she needed to slow down. He told her to enjoy what she had now; not to linger over the past or stress about the future. Rima tried her best to follow this advice, and yet there were times when she wondered about where she would be in later years. More so, she wondered if she would still be as close with Nagihiko, say in a time span of four years or so. Would they be considered boyfriend and girlfriend? Would they remain friends, but find love with other individuals? Would something occur between them that would end whatever sort of relationship they had?

Rima did admittedly worry about these types of things. However she always told herself that as long Nagihiko was with her and by her side, she wouldn't ponder over them too much. Yes, as long as she had Nagihiko next to her, she wouldn't really worry about much…

Her breathing turned to panting as a nurse dressed down in white led her into the last room down the hallway. She felt her heart and stomach mixing together as she made her way past a bunch of creepy looking machinery. Rima's body froze at the sight of Nagihiko, or at least what she thought was Nagihiko. It was hard to tell. He was bloodied up, the crimson liquid even visible on the sheet that covered his lower half. One arm that hung limply to his side was blue in some areas, purple in others, and black near the fingers. Blood stained his perfect hair, and dripped from his mouth. The cheek visible to Rima was pink, and the opposite eye was blackened. He was hooked up to all kinds of machines that made horribly annoying beeping noises.

"N-Nagihiko…" Rima breathed, clawing at her thighs as if the pain would wake her up from a terrible nightmare.

He didn't answer.

With legs of lead, Rima moved closer to him. Smaller cuts and bruises were now evident as she cautiously leaned over his beaten body. Rima bit down on her tongue. Looking at him in this state pierced her like a knife, and yet there was no earthly way she could pry her eyes off of him. She tried whispering his name once more, this time causing him to barely open his eyes. He titled his head slightly at her, and after taking several minutes to focus: smiled.

"Rima…" His voice was worse than his body. Never before had the blonde heard such a weak, raspy tone out of him.

"Nagihiko!" Rima screeched, feeling herself give straight into emotion as tears overtook her eyes.

His smile destroyed the weakened wall that Rima had placed around her heart, and she broke out into uncontrollable sobs. With all her might she shoved the inevitable haunting thought to the back of her mind.

"I'm sorry…I guess I should have waited to cross the street." Nagihiko whispered, attempting to brush her trembling hand with his dry fingers.

Rima delicately held his crippled hand, wheezing heavily as she desperately dug around for words. "I- I- It's going to be okay…"

Nagihiko winced, causing Rima to shriek. After several minutes of breathing hard, the boy turned back to her, forcing his lips to bend into a smile once more.

"I'm so sorry…" He trailed off, closing his eyes once more.

Rima lost herself to another panic attack. "NO! NO! NO! It's going to be okay, Nagihiko! You're going to be just fine!" She sniffled through her excessive crying.

The boy barely shook his head. His kind eyes shot Rima through the heart. Like a child she stomped her feet and shook her head- forcing the undeniable truth away from her.

"Just remember, I'm never going to really leave you."

"Exactly! You're not going to leave! You're going to live…" Rima pushed as she strained to keep her voice even somewhat understandable.

Nagihiko smiled apologetically once more. "Rima…please promise me you'll continue to live after I die."

"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO DIE!" Rima shrieked, yanking at her own golden locks.

The boy held his hand up to quiet her down. He was panting with more difficulty now, and he could no longer keep his eyes open.

"Please promise me that you'll remember…that you'll never…"

Rima shook her head violently as his voice faded. This couldn't be happening! She wasn't losing him. She wasn't losing the person she cared most about. She couldn't lose him.

"You'll never be alone…" he continued, fading far too quickly.

Rima felt rivers of salty tears stream down her cheeks- each one stinging even more than the last as the boy before her struggled.

"If you're not with me--!"

"N-never…a- alo……ne."

One of the machines Nagihiko was hooked up to made a strange noise. Rima waited with her mouth in the form of an 'o' to see what he had to say next. But he did not speak again. His harsh breathing quieted, and still no more words left his bloodied mouth. And yet Rima waited, killing her sanity as the truth slowly placed its icy fingers over her neck.

He's dead.

No, he wasn't dead.

He's dead.

No…he had probably just passed out.

He's dead.

NO! He couldn't be dead.

He's dead. Nagihiko, the one she loved, is dead.

"Nn…nn…NGHN!"

Rima gasped as the truth hit her like a train wreck. Nagihiko was DEAD. He wouldn't be able to eat the chocolates she had bought for him. He wouldn't be able to help her with her studies any more. He wouldn't ever smile for her again. Never again would he hold her. Never ever again would he kiss her head. Those plans they had made to visit the aquarium: gone. The upcoming test he'd promised to help her study for: gone. The chance to tell him how much she truly loved him…he would never give her his own answer.

Rima collapsed over his corpse. His already white face wouldn't smile at her anymore. She fell over onto the cold floor in a fit of wailing and sobbing.

Nagihiko was gone, and he wasn't coming back.

He would never come back.