Time seemed to slow as he watched him fall just out of reach, slipping past his fingertips.
The spirit’s attack had hit dead center, right between Shou’s eyes, with no chance for him to construct a barrier. Neither of them had been expecting it, hadn’t even thought they’d encounter something like that way up here.
Ritsu had been just close enough to watch Shou’s aura stutter and flicker as he began to tip sideways, struggling to stay conscious and keep himself upright, but then it disappeared completely and then he was falling, careening towards the ground and plummeting right past Ritsu and he had been just out of reach.
Ritsu flings himself earthbound, trying to push himself to terminal velocity just to catch up, he can almost grab Shou’s ankle, he’s right there, but so is the ground, trees looming up higher and higher towards them…
He just manages to catch his fingers around Shou’s jeans, pulling him in and tucking his head into his chest as twigs snap at his wind-burnt face.
His barrier takes the brunt of the trauma, shattering on impact and leaving a crater in it’s wake. Ritsu’s vision flashes fractured-bone white before settling into blood-clot black.