A/N: YaY! another Negima! fan fiction!

I took a break with "A Little Comfort" because the other day, I was flipping through the channels, and Negima! was on the FUNimation Channel. It was Episode 19: Words Fly Away, the Letter Remains; the episode where we learn more about Sayo Aisaka.

It had to be one of the saddest Negima episodes I have ever seen! Sayo was always one of my fav characters, but after seeing this, she went up a couple of notches on my Fav Character List.

However, i thought that they were too vague about Sayo's death. Since I watched the English dub, they stated that Sayo had gotten really sick after defending her sister's garden. But that was it. In the Japanese dub, they never even said that much. So, I decided to make a fan fiction about what I thought had happened during her final moments.

Now, there may already be fanfictions about this, but I couldn't find any. So, sorry.

I am NOT good with the Japanese honorifics WHATSOEVER T.T So, i mixed in the Japanese honorifc for "older sister" while everyone else does not address one another with "-chan", "-kun" or "-san" the only exception is "Kami-sama" sorry but it got really confusing REALLY fast! And i thought it would get REALLY confusing if both sisters addressed one another with "sis", or it would get annoying when Sayo's sister would say her name ALL. THE. TIME!

Also, since Dean Konoemon Konoe states in Episode 19 that Sayo's poem was written by a girl that he loved, I included him a little in the story. But since Mahora is an ALL GIRLS ACADEMY, he is a part of the staff. He's young, but one of his family members works there, and so he follows them...or something...I'll decide that later/

I know that in the manga, it is hinted that Sayo died because she was a victim of a chain of murders. But I'm following the ANIME'S EXPLANATION!

I hope that you guys like this story, it's kinda long for a one-shot tho. And I tried to stay true to the characters.

uhhhh, wut else? Since there was no name for Sayo's sister, I just address her as..."Sayo's sister"

If I get anything wrong, please PM me so I can change it.

Please R and R.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NEGIMA! Negima is property of Ken Akamatsue, FUNIMATION, and Xebec, and TV Tokyo (I think i got it right)

"Sayo! Sayo, the Silver Leaves are going to die! And Mama won't come back!" the little girl with very short brown hair cried. Her bigger sister was holding her arm, preventing her from running out into the freezing rain.

"Sis, it's too cold and rainy to go outside. You'll catch cold." She bear-hugged her squirming sister and she thrashed to and fro.

"But Sayo, if the Silver Leaves die, then Mama can't come back! Please, let me go save them!" the little girl sobbed, afraid for the flower garden. Sayo felt bad for her younger sister. She didn't know why, but her little sister had started to believe that if she planted the small yellow flowers in their garden, called Silver Leaves, then their deceased mother would come back to them. She couldn't blame her sister for believing in such a yarn. They missed their mother very much, and had nowhere to turn to after she died. The two sisters lived in a tiny cabin off of the Mahora Academy campus. A semi-large dirt patch was all they really had for property. The two girls went to Mahora Academy during the day; Sayo being in middle school, and her sister in elementary.

The year was 1941. They had enrolled in the school not long ago. And ever since their enrollment, Sayo's sister would plant Silver Leaves almost every week, always carving the same phrase in a block of wood placed in the ground: "So that mother will come back."

Sayo hugged her crying sister. She didn't want the dream to die. She didn't want her sister to be devastated if the flowers died. All her hope would be lost. But she couldn't let her sister go out in the rain; what if she caught a horrible cold? Sayo wouldn't be able to forgive herself if anything happened to her sister. Her sister flinched when thunder crashed and lightning illuminated the cabin.

I have to save that garden. I have to keep that dream alive.

Sayo picked her sister up, and set her down on the bed. Putting a hand up to her sister's face, she sternly told her,

"Now listen closely. I do not want you to set one foot outside this cabin. Can you promise me that?"

Her sister looked up, puzzled.

"I'm going out there to save the garden, so you won't have to worry about it. I may not return until late, okay? So I want you to go to bed at the normal time. Please?"

Her sister wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded. Sayo hugged her once again, before dashing to get the umbrella, and running out the door.

The wind was stronger than Sayo had thought. It chilled her to the bone, but didn't stop her from proceeding. The rain felt like ice shards against her skin. Her feet sloshed on the wet ground. The coldness hurt her lungs as she panted.

Finally, she reached the garden. Heavy drops of rain rested on the leaves of the flowers. Such a beautiful sight, even in a storm like this. Sayo stood there for a minute, admiring the beauty of a garden made by her younger sibling. But another crack of lightning snapped her out of her reverie. She let go of her grip on the umbrella and it flew away, lifted by the strong winds.

Sayo glanced around desperately, trying to find something to cover the delicate flowers. She ran back into the woods, looking for a tarp around the old wasteland. Breathing hard, she rummaged through old garbage and debris.

Come on, there's gotta be something to cover the garden with.

As the wind blew harder, she could feel her body getting unusually warm. Holding a hand to her forehead, her heart lurched when she realized what was wrong. But, deciding to ignore it and continue with the task, she sprinted to an old clock tower in the vicinity, praying that she would find something.

Her eye caught a brown tarp in the corner of the room (A/N: sorry guys if that sounds too convenient. I also forgot what she covered it with, so I chose a tarp. Please correct me if I'm wrong).Shuffling to it, she ran her hands over it. Sayo wanted to see if it had any holes in it, but none appeared. It seemed pretty strong, and wasn't weathered badly. It would be perfect for protecting the small garden.

Gripping the tarp with weakened hands, she lugged it out of the building. Her long, black hair covered her eyes when the wind blew hard. Her determination is what kept her going. Drowsiness started to take its toll; she could guess that it was way past midnight. And the wind only got colder.

As she heaved the brown cover across the yard, she began to feel worse. One minute she'd be shivering, and the next she'd feel as if the sun was two inches away from Earth. Sayo was in such a rush that she forgot her coat, and all she was wearing was her white sailor school uniform. Her nose started running. And she became very light-headed. It's just a small cold. If you hurry home afterwards, you'll be okay, she told herself, trying to calm down.

Sayo grunted from the weighty tarp, but gave a sigh of relief when she came to the garden. The rain's speed hadn't changed, and Sayo wiped her eyes to clear them of the droplets. Taking a deep breath, she winced from a sharp pain in her lungs. It caused her to cough roughly.

Once the episode subsided, she looked around the lot, and finally realized that she had nothing to secure the tarp to the ground. Sayo thought quickly. Leaving the heavy tarp lying in a heap, she ran into the woods, stooping down every now and again to pick up rocks. Once she had enough, she raced back to the site.

She worked for another good two hours. Sayo secured the tarp to the ground with either one or two heavy stones. The girl repeated this with each of the four corners and went back to check on her work.

Once she was done, she stood panting in the rainstorm. Her once-white uniform was now covered in rich, brown mud and leaves. Her entire body was dirty, actually. And her condition hadn't gotten any better either. Her throat now burned with an intense fire every time she swallowed. Her head pounded hard and her dizziness was getting worse. Her cough became harder and her nose and eyes were streaming.

Sayo started for home, walking slowly as she hoped the tarp would stay. She checked it multiple times and tested it, and it seemed fine. Her sister would be so happy that her garden was still thriving. She trudged on, wondering if her sister had gone to bed like she asked. It was very late, and her sister was so sensitive. If she caught a cold staying up, she would be so weak. Sayo couldn't bear to see her sister like that.

Suddenly, the world lurched underneath her feet, making her cling onto a tree for balance. She gradually felt worse as she walked on, ignoring the obvious signs of sickness. A small flicker of comfort spread across her heart when she saw the cozy little cabin. Sayo didn't bother to knock; she just entered quietly. Not that it would've mattered anyway, because her sister woke up as soon as she heard the door close.

"Uhh…Sayo? Is that you?"

"Y-y-yeah, sis. It's m-m-me" Sayo stammered, shivering.

"Sayo…are you okay? You look really pale."

"I-I-I'm just tired. That can happen when you stay up late in the night in the rain."

Sayo felt like her legs were made of lead. The dizziness grew rapidly and she let out a loud moan, her strength immediately leaving her. She crumpled to the floor, shaking terribly. Her sister jumped out of bed and ran to her side.

"Nee-chan! Nee-chan…what's wrong?" she shook the frail body, "Please Nee-chan, open your eyes, please! Oh, Nee-chan, don't leave me, please! Please!" She begged, tears falling off her face and to the floor. Sayo summoned up enough strength to open her eyes and whisper, "D-don't cry, sis. I…I'm all right…really…I'm just…t-tired…"

Sayo's sister placed a hand on her forehead, and gasped.

"You're…very hot, Nee-chan!"

She walked to the bed, yanked the comforter off, and placed it on Sayo, to get her warmer.

"Nee-chan, just hang on…"

"D-d-don't worry…I'll…b-be…fi-" but she couldn't even finish her sentence, and succumbed to fatigue.

For the next couple of days, Sayo lay sick in bed, helpless. There wasn't much the doctors could do to help her. Her fever wouldn't go down and her coughing had gotten worse. On most days, Sayo couldn't even stay awake long enough for the doctors to take her temperature. Her younger sister never left Sayo's side during the long days and nights. But her worry was growing into a full-blown panic.

Sayo couldn't eat or stand up because she was so weak. Her face was as white as the snow, and her eyes stood out from the charcoal-black bags underneath. When Sayo would be awake, her sister would try to get her to talk. Her sister got permission from the Dean of the Academy to excuse Sayo from classes.

Konoemon Konoe was a friend of Sayo's that started to hang out with her when she first enrolled in the school. He was a nice young man that really saw nice qualities in Sayo. Since she had low self-esteem, she didn't make many friends. But she was happy to have him as a friend.

One day, he overheard some of the teachers and staff talking about Sayo.

"Did you hear about Miss Aisaka from Class 2A?"

"Yeah. Apparently, the poor thing is too sick to come to class"

"How horrible!"

"Her sister is caring for her, but I don't know how long this'll continue."

When he caught wind that Sayo was ill, he became concerned. A week had passed and she hadn't returned to class. He made up his mind to go visit her.

He made his way in the back of the school to the secret garden, and trekked on until he came to the cabin. Konoemon knocked on the door and was greeted by Sayo's little sister.

"Oh, hello Mr. Konoemon. I…I guess you've heard…about Sayo…" she timidly murmured. She invited him in. He was startled to see the condition his friend was in. She was sleeping fitfully, occasionally yelping or whimpering. Her face was white like the clouds, and her hair was untidy from her tossing and turning in bed.

"How is she?" he asked, setting down his books. The sick girl's sister pulled up two chairs to the side of the bed, and sat down in one while Konoemon sat in the other.

"Well, you see, another doctor came by to check on her. And he told me that…i-i-in her condition, she doesn't have long to live."

The news frightened Konoemon. "She'll…die?"

The sister nodded, breaking down as she went on, "Her…her lungs are too weak…she can hardly breathe as it is…and her fever was dangerously high today…the doctor was surprised that she lasted this long."

"But, I believe that she'll make it through" her sister sounded as if she was reassuring herself more than Konoemon. "She…she's got to. She's the only one I have le-"

She was interrupted by a cry from Sayo.

"Sis…sis! Help! Please!"

Her sister put her small hand on Sayo's forehead and ran to get a bowl of water and a rag off the counter. Konoemon held Sayo's delicate hand in his own.

"Help…please…I'm...on f-fire! Help!" Sayo weakly gasped, coughing hard. Konoemon stroked her beautiful black hair and murmured, "Sayo, it's me; Konoemon. You're all right. You have a terrible fever."

Sayo whimpered in response and Konoemon asked, "Can you hear me?"

She opened her eyes halfway. Her eyes were glossy, and she could hardly see. But she was able to see her good friend sitting beside her.

"K-K-Konoe. You're…here…I'm s-s-so…glad…" she wheezed, breathing heavily. Her sister came back, dipped the cloth in the water, and put it on Sayo's forehead.

"Don't talk too much. You'll wear yourself out" her sister warned, looking at her with a sad gaze.

Sayo gulped painfully, and continued, "How…how much s-schoolwork…have I missed…?"

Konoemon's heart hurt to hear her worry more about her schoolwork, and less about her condition.

"A…bit. But it doesn't matter, Sayo. You have to get some rest if you want to get better."

Sayo nodded, and closed her eyes. Konoemon turned to Sayo's sister and mentioned, "I have to go soon. But if you need me to help out at all, I-"

"No! D-don't leave! Please!" Sayo frightfully wailed. Konoemon jumped and Sayo's sister looked at her puzzlingly.

"Please…I know…that I'm not long…f-f-for this world…b-b-but I want to see…y-you as often as…I…c-can…" tears fell from her colorless cheeks. Konoemon sat back down, nervous. Sayo coughed multiple times into her hand. When she finally stopped, her looked at her hand and found that it was covered in blood. This scared her a great deal, and she started to whimper again. Konoemon tightened his grip on Sayo's other strength-less hand. He couldn't believe that such a beautiful girl was to be robbed of her young life.

Then, Sayo babbled something that both Konoemon and her sister had never heard before.

"Her tiny hands are planting silver leaves so tender, patiently waiting for the bloom, next November."

"W…what was that Sayo?" her sister asked, confused.

"That…was a…p-p-poem I wrote…" Sayo explained, her voice becoming fainter. "It's…a-b-bout Sis…and t-the garden…"

Her sister started to cry. It was a beautiful poem, and it was about her and the garden. She suddenly hugged Sayo tightly, sobbing.

"Nee-chan…it's a beautiful p-poem…"

Sayo was surprised, and for the first time in a long time, she started to cry as well. She hugged her little sister, and thought, I don't want to die! Kami-sama please! I can't die and leave her here, all alone!

Konoemon agreed to stay until ten o' clock at night. He never left Sayo's side. And neither did her sister. They all talked to one another, and Sayo made a bigger effort to stay conscious. It was around eight-thirty that she started to nod off.

When Konoemon finally left and went to go back to the school, he began to think about the poem that Sayo had made. Wasn't there an assignment for Class 2A to write poems? If she did, then would it be in the school…book?

He sprinted all the way to the huge library in the school. Konoemon zipped through the aisles, looking for the school poem book. Finally, he found it, and opened it. He flipped through the pages rapidly, until he found it.

Her tiny hands are planting silver leaves so tender, patiently waiting for the bloom, next November.

Images of Sayo, being so ill, went through his mind. It hurt his heart, and he started to cry. Konoemon dropped to his knees and broke down.

The next day, Sayo's condition took a turn for the worse. She was gasping for breath, and she could hardly talk and stay awake.

Her sister stayed by her side, holding her hand. When Sayo's breathing started to wane, her sister started to panic. She put two fingers on Sayo's wrist, and her stomach flipped when she could hardly feel her sister's pulse.

"Nee-chan…Nee-chan…can you hear me…?"

Sayo's eyes opened ever so slightly.

"Sis…I…d-don't have much time left…"

"No! Don't leave, Nee-chan! Please!"

Sayo could feel herself growing weaker, and her vision started to tunnel. She couldn't breathe; it was like she was suffocating. Her heartbeat was slowing down, too, but Sayo felt nonetheless tranquil. It was strange, and although she felt sad, she was peaceful.

The darkness was ready to engulf her. Sayo smiled weakly at her sister.

"Sis…promise me…that you'll…t-take care of yourself…"

"Sayo…"

"Please…sis…take…c-care…" Sayo closed her eyes, and gave way into the dizzying blackness. Her heartbeat beat a few more times.

Ba-bump…

"Sayo…!"

Ba-bump…

"Don't leave!" her sister's tearful cries echoed in Sayo's sub-conscious.

Ba…bump…

Sayo took a deep breath, and shuddered as she felt herself leave…

Ba…bump…

Konoemon sorted out his schedule in his mind.

I'll visit Sayo when I'm done with my work…her sister could use some help.

"Dean! Dean!"

Konoemon looked behind him to see Sayo's little sister running to the Dean's office. He ran to her and tapped her on the back. She turned around, and he saw that she had been crying a great deal.

"K…Konoemon…" she whimpered, lunging forward to hug him. As she embraced him, he became confused and worried.

"What's wrong? What's going on?"

"It's Nee-chan! She…she's dead! She's dead!"

Konoemon stared at her, unsure if he heard correctly.

"W…what?"

"Nee-chan is DEAD! SHE'S DEAD!" she screamed, shaking terribly.

He tried to go over the fact in his mind. His friend, Sayo Aisaka…is dead? He hugged Sayo's sister back, and murmured, "It's okay. Shh…it's okay." But he knew it wasn't okay. He was crying as well; she had died too soon. He would never see his friend again.

A teacher had noticed what happened and ran over to them.

"What's going on here? Who is this little girl?" she asked, kneeling down to their level.

Konoemon looked at the teacher, his eyes moist, and swallowed hard.

"Th-this is Sayo Aisaka's sister…she…she…"

"NEE-CHAN'S DEAD! AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" the little girl hollered suddenly.

The teacher paused, before asking, "Sayo Aisaka? From Class 2A? She's…dead?"

Konoemon nodded. "She…she was sick…she was on t-the verge of death…and now…"

He couldn't continue. He broke down, hugging Sayo's sister. The teacher tried her best to comfort them, but it wasn't enough.

After calming down a little, Sayo's sister explained where Sayo was at the moment, and what had happened in the past couple of weeks.

The news quickly spread across the school about Sayo's death. A funeral service was held at the school in honor of her. No one had a dry eye at the service. Not even the teachers.

Despite the protests from the staff of the school, Sayo's sister demanded that she stay in the cabin. She didn't want to leave the place where her and her sister grew up in. And she especially didn't want to leave the special garden. She insisted, and the Dean as well as Konoemon understood why. They were the only ones who didn't try to convince her otherwise. But they both felt wary about the little girl living on her own.

Since then, Konoemon, and the rest of the school for that matter, never heard anything of the little girl ever again. Konoemon felt guilty for not protecting Sayo's sister. Anything could've happened to her. She left no clues. Others suspected that she committed suicide because she continuously blamed herself for Sayo's death. No matter how many times Konoemon told her that it wasn't her fault, she still blamed herself.

Konoemon went outside one winter afternoon, to visit Sayo's grave. It was snowing lightly, and seeing the white scenery made his heart heavy. If only Sayo had lived long enough to see the first snow of the season. A month had passed since her passing, and he hadn't smiled once since then. Her sister was already gone, and he had no lead as to where she was or what happened. He wondered what Sayo would do if she found out that her sister was nowhere to be found, when something caught his eye. It was a vast sea of yellow. Near the old clock tower. He walked in that direction, wondering what was there. What he came to was amazing.

The ocean of yellow consisted of Silver leaf flowers. The garden that Sayo's sister had tended to was still alive, although barely. The snow was to take its toll any day and kill the helpless flowers. He walked around the garden, staring in astonishment at the beautiful plot. Konoemon then saw a significant patch in the dirt that displayed a saying that touched his heart.

So that mother and sister will come back…

Sayo stared at the small patch of dirt with the writing on it. Her sister had written that. She wanted Sayo to come back. And Sayo couldn't even live long enough to care for her.

It's my fault that she went missing. It's my fault!

Sayo knelt down, covered her face, and started to cry. She missed her sister so much. Sixty long years had gone by, and Sayo, now that she was a ghost, wasn't able to leave the vicinity of the Academy for some unknown reason, and Sayo had lost her memory of her past over the years. She had forgotten about her death, and her sister, and the garden. But now, that one of her classmates, Kazumi, was trying to find out her past life, she remembered everything bit by bit. Now that she knew what happened, it tore her apart. After her death, her sister was left all alone. And then, she was nowhere to be found. If Sayo hadn't died, she would've still been around.

If I was still alive, she would be okay. But…oh, sis, I'm so sorry!

"Holy crap! A ghost!" Sayo heard someone say. But she didn't look up; she knew it was Kazumi. A long silence was held before she heard Kazumi sigh. Sayo looked up with tears in her eyes, and saw that Kazumi had her camera in her hand, but was not setting up to take a picture.

"Aren't you going to take it?" she asked her red-haired classmate tearfully.

Kazumi looked away and murmured, "I can't. It…just doesn't feel right…"

Sayo smiled weakly and replied, "Thanks, Kazumi."

"Her tiny hands are planting silver leaves so tender, patiently waiting for the bloom, next November."

"I like that poem. It's cute. Who wrote it?" Miss Minamoto asked Dean Konoe.

The elderly man got out of his chair, and stared out the window in thought. His mind wandered to the Silver Leaves garden; the one that he helped to keep alive year round for these past 60 years.

Finally, he closed his eyes, smiled, and stated, "A girl I loved very much, a long long time ago"

AWWW SO SAD AND SWEET! Hope you guys liked it

Now that I'm done with that, I may start a one-shot about Sayo and Konoemon's friendship. OOOHHH!

AYAKA: OR, you could continue with "A Little Comfort" because it's been TOO LONG since the LAST CHAPTER!

CONAN: What do you mean? It's bee FOREVER since "Blood Relations" has been updated!

AYAKA: Don't talk to me like that, you little twerp!

*sweatdrop* as you can tell, I hav many other fanfictions to update, as well as many to actually get STARTED! I'll try to get the Sasami: MGC, School Rumble, OR Ouran High School Host Club fanfics started soon...very soon...

tata for now! *NYA!*