Clouds of smoke filled the blue sky as white birds soared to safer horizons. Sunlight dimmed into the region's murky atmosphere, a shift in colors that echoed like an alarm to the chaos below.

On the surface, the prosperity of the green grass was marred by the incessant trampling of modern shoes, which left irreparable scars on the ground. Direct blows threatened the integrity of the serene environment, just as sharp blades targeted unprotected bodies.

“I think we might die. Should I worry?” asked a blank-eyed woman at the center of the confusion.

“Not at all. It's just a few lethal blows.” replied Kai.

Enviable reflexes deflected rapid slashes, and his carefree mind allowed him to focus entirely on the confrontation. In contrast to the leader, his companions were pushed to their limits and forced to endure relentless attacks from reckless assailants.

Agitation moved every inch of the anxious bodies, whose direction was decided by the inconsequential gaze of passionate eyes. In contrast to the rational methods of the cold group, deadly knives were maneuvered by determined hands.

“That's so much fun! Fighting the enemies of love is a magical experience!!!” 

In response to one enemy's excited words, his opponent stayed on the defensive. The cold fellow carefully assessed the situation when he asked his leader for further instructions.

“How should we proceed against these weapons? They really hurt,” he commented with a knife lodged in his arm.

“No action is required. Just leave it to me an-“

An unexpected attack interrupted Kai's words. Right before him, a tree was severed in half by the mighty swing of an axe. The trunk crashed beside the boy, who swiftly dodged the falling object.

Jumping to retrieve the weapon that had just been thrown, Aimee caught the fallen axe while standing beside the rival leader. Disappointed by the poor plant's outcome, she whimpered.

“Ahhh!!! Poor tree... You really shouldn't have swerved!”

“It was merely a reflex.”

“On the other hand, it was quite a charming move! The unpredictability of passion is truly enchanting!”

With a renewed effort, Aimee sprinted forward like an arrow. The sudden advance put the target in check, but the heft of the weapon allowed him to narrowly dodge and survive.

Despite the apparent success, the escapade resulted in a serious consequence: another victim suffered an abrupt attack. The blank-eyed companion was inadvertently split in half due to her representative's decision.

“You should have taken the attack for her. That would’ve been so romantic!” Aimee teased.

“It was just a reflex. Besides...”

Kai turned toward the body that had just been dismembered. His slow steps revealed the nonchalance of a guy without regrets, his expression remaining guilt-free.

Near the fallen companion, the boy's dry touch triggered a remarkable transformation in the corpse's condition. The two halves were reconnected in a complete regeneration of the broken woman's body after contact with morbid fingers.

“No hearts will be broken in my presence. I promised to heal them. I will mend all those shattered by love,” Kai declared.

“A direct touch to the heart! It's the pinnacle of romance!” Aimee couldn't hide her excitement.

Unlike his leader's reckless enthusiasm, a man in love panicked at the sight of a feat that could threaten the romantic group's victory.

“He revived that woman?! This could put our paradise in danger!”

Next to the speaker, Aimee walked happily toward the worried man. Her light, bouncy feet made a charming crossing of the battlefield. Smiling in a friendly manner, the young woman's arrival was marked by a sweet hug as she reassured her partner with kind words.

“If we were fighting alone, we'd probably be in trouble.”

Bodies fused into a perfect union. Two heads represented a genuine relationship, while four arms stood ready to defend true love, each wielding a knife in their free hands.

Kai lit his lighter as he faced the newly formed creature. The confrontation escalated when both collectives reached the peak of their powers. There was no other outcome but destruction.

“I see I'm not the only one with new tricks. This will take longer than expected.”

Four legs moved forward, as steps backward would no longer be tolerated. At the height of her emotions, Aimee confronted the enemy leader for one last, decisive time.

“I will not allow any more lonely hearts. My promise is to reconnect the isolated with love—that's my way of healing them!”

“So be it.”

❥ ❥ ❥

Fallen trees, alongside unarmed bodies, marked the end of the combat between powerful forces. Silence unveiled the end of this dark period, as smoke gradually dissipated into the air above the bodies lying on the ground.

Amid countless defeated figures, a single man stood with empty hands and torn clothes. His elegance was compromised by the absence of the other half of his top hat, which lay broken in battle debris. Kai proclaimed individual victory.

“It looks like it's over.”

The crunching of bones signaled an unusual approach. Contrary to the others' expectations, another presence had delayed the long-awaited outcome with a fatal strike. With an axe in hand, Aimee ran toward the only remaining target, ready to take him down once and for all.

“Wrong! The real love war never ends!!!”

Kai responded to the sudden attack with a dodge that made the blade graze his clothes. Seizing the pace of the fight, he countered with a direct kick to the weapon. Without the object, the contest would no longer involve any equipment.

Face to face, all that remained for the combatants was their determination and clenched fists. Stuck in their throats, the repeated speech seemed to be spoken on its own, as if their mouths already knew precisely the message to be conveyed.

“I will cure everyone!” they both said.

Simultaneous strikes hit the opponent's chest. The force of the two attacks hit the targeted hearts precisely, affecting the victims emotionally. After the shock, the expressions of the pair immediately changed.

Heart-shaped pupils bid farewell to passionate vision, while empty eyes returned to their usual color, abandoning their dead-fish expression.

Returning to his original posture, the boy's eyelids were caught off guard as tears streamed down his face in a wave of resurgent emotion.

“L-LARAAAA! WHY DID YOU SAY THOSE THINGS!? LARA!”

Faced with desperate crying, Aimee gradually tried to understand the situation, noticing significant gaps in her memory, which was limited only to the recollection of having been on a bench in a busy square. Changes in the flow of her red hair left her confused about the unwanted organization, but the distressing shouts barely allowed her to think about it.

“What's all the shouting about, kid? Hurry up and confess to me!!! Isn't that why you came here?”

Unsure of what he had just heard, Kai found it difficult to grasp the complexity of the unreasonable phrase. The straightforward nature of the words led him to question if he was being played, but the curiosity it sparked was enough to wipe away his tears of sadness.

“Confess to you?”

“You won't let your shyness hold you back, will you? Hurry up and propose, you coward!”

“Hey, girl. It turns out-“

“Shut up! Don't even think about dumping me! I'm the one in this position! Recognize your place, you slacker!!!”

Seeking to interrupt a moment already experienced, talking lips protected ears tired of hearing the same things. The situation the red-haired woman had always experienced could not be repeated.

Nervousness moved the young woman's position, a result of even more stress than usual. She turned her back on the listener, turning the conversation into a one-sided vent. Lonely fingers intertwined in an attempt to contain the anxiety that was eating her up inside.

“I-I get it. You're just going to stand there, watching me from a distance. Seeing me alone among so many people... I must really be a lonely weirdo!!!"

Trees were unexpectedly ignited by the continuous activity of fallen lighters. The grass caught fire, and the burning nature formed a blazing circle around the two.

Surrounded by the unusual phenomenon, the glowing light cleared Kai's mind. The memory guided his hand to a small black box tucked away in the remnants of his clothes.

“I'm glad I didn't even get to use this.”

Red hair blended in with the color of the flames, a sight too stunning to be appreciated from the back. After sensing something brush against her fingers, the young woman quickly turned to the boy.

Thrown by the crowd of the defeated, grenades flew through the air, igniting explosions that conquered the blue sky, resembling fireworks in broad daylight. Clouds of smoke created the necessary darkness for an intimate atmosphere, where only two faces could grasp what had happened.

“That's odd. I don't even know your name, but it seems like this ring was made for this finger. Good thing it didn't break in the middle of battle!”

“A ring made for me? Pfft! Hahaha! That would never happen! I've always been alone, after all..."

Gently placed on the woman's fingers, the ring seemed to have found its perfect home, but earlier damage caused the object to break in half. Startled, Kai replied to his earlier comment.

“So it actually broke during the battle.”

In sickness and in health, in wealth and in poverty, I will love and respect her until death do us part. 

Beautiful words often accompany the happiest moments of a man's life. However, they can sometimes become part of his most painful memories.

“Well then, let's get a new one. What do you think?” suggested the boy after getting up for another walk.

“I want a statement first, you idiot! You skipped that part!”

“N-No. I'd prefer not to experience that again.”

When such misfortunes happen, it's up to your broken and lonely heart to find someone who can heal it.

Aimee and Kai headed into town, leaving the park behind. With their bodies intact and hands intertwined, the couple still had a long day ahead. 

THE END