So, I'm finally updating this! Warning: it's going to be a lot darker this chapter. Anyways, onto the disclaimer. I do not own Shugo Chara, and if I did, then I would pity all of the characters because their lives would really suck. Onward!

It had been one week since Nagihiko spent Christmas at Rima's house. That had been the last time he saw any member of the guardians, since it was Winter Break. He transformed on the gibbous moons, but they weren't very intense. Nagihiko opened his eyes that morning, experiencing a restless sleep. His stomach had been hurting him even more, but his headaches were greatly reduced.

"Morning Nagi!" Rhythm called, grinning. "Ready to go back to school?"

"I guess so…" Nagihiko got changed, and went downstairs, eating a small breakfast. Although his stomach hurt, eating didn't seem to affect it. He decided to walk to school that day. He finished his small breakfast, and left his house.

"Wow, it seems like ages since you've been to school, even though it's only been a little more than a week!" Temari exclaimed. Nagihiko nodded.

"Yeah, it's hard to believe…" Nagihiko agreed. The last time he was at school, he had been experiencing the dreams, but he hadn't known what they meant. He walked over to the Royal Garden, and walked inside. To his surprise, he was the last guardian to arrive. The other four stared at him, as if he was foreign.

"I'm fine…" Nagihiko muttered. He took a seat in his usual chair. There was a silence, as the guardians still gave Nagihiko worried glances. Nagihiko hated the pity and the attention.

"Well… anyway, did everyone enjoy their break?" Tadase asked, breaking the silence. Nagihiko didn't say anything, considering most of his break was moaning in pain.

"Yaya missed everyone!" Yaya moaned. "Why did Yaya have to go away? Oh well, it was fun!"

"Where did you go Yaya-Chan?" Nagihiko wondered.

"Yaya's family went to a beach resort! It was so cool to be at the beach, since it's winter!" Yaya explained, giggling.

"Sounds nice." Rima muttered.

"I really didn't do too much." Amu admitted. "Nagi, did…"

"Yeah." Nagihiko interrupted. "It wasn't too bad though, not as bad as the first two times."

"That's good…" Amu smiled softly. "Does it hurt a lot now?"

"No, not really." Nagihiko lied. His stomach was bothering him insanely. However, he decided to keep quiet about that. Rima raised an eyebrow at him. Nagihiko ignored Rima's suspicion, and looked at the table, waiting for someone to bring up a new topic of conversation.

"Rima-Tan, how was your Christmas?" Yaya wondered, grinning.

"The break, or the day? Because they have two entirely different answers." Rima said, smiling at Nagihiko. Nagihiko uttered a small smile back. Yaya stared at Rima, dumbfounded.

"Y-You're smiling?! At Nagi-Tan?!" Yaya exclaimed, in shock.

"Yes Yaya. I am allowed to smile." To spite Yaya, Rima uttered a grin, making the others, with the exception of Nagihiko, stare at her in puzzlement. Nagihiko kept quiet about how he saw Rima giggling about the comedy show.

"A-Anyway…" Tadase smiled. "We really don't have much to talk about… There are no activities going on in the school, and there are no X-Eggs, so… I suppose this is more of a hangout session for now."

"YAY!" Yaya squealed grinning. "Rima, grin with Yaya."

"I don't feel like it."

"You were just grinning before though!"

"I don't want to now."

"Why not?"

"I'm too lazy." Yaya cocked an eyebrow. As the guardians talked about nonsense, Nagihiko couldn't focus. The pain in his stomach was excruciating. It wasn't like a normal stomachache, since Nagihiko had felt the pain for a week now.

"I'll be right back." Nagihiko promised, standing up, and leaving the Royal Garden. It hurt even to stand up. Nagihiko decided to take a trip to the nurse's office. Although Nagihiko had never gone to the nurse before school started, he presumed that she would be there early.

"What's up?" Rhythm wondered, concerned.

"My stomach… It hurts." Nagihiko admitted. "I didn't want to show any sign of weakness to the guardians, because they'll just pity me, and I don't need their pity."

"They just care about you Nagi. I know it might seem annoying, but they just insanely care about you. Especially Rima, who managed to kiss you." Nagihiko's face flushed.

"Temari!" Nagihiko whined.

"What? I was only pointing out what happened." Temari moaned. Nagihiko was blushing, a small smile spreading across his lips. Rhythm and Temari looked at each other, grinning immensely.

"What?" Nagihiko wondered, facing his two charas with skepticism. The two of them snickered mischievously.

"Nothing!~" Rhythm smiled innocently. Nagihiko narrowed his eyes at his charas, and arrived in front of the nurse's office. He knocked on the door, waiting for the nurse to tell him to come in.

"What is the matter?" The nurse asked him.

"My stomach has been bothering me lately." Nagihiko explained, neglecting to explain the werewolf incident for obvious reasons. "I don't believe it is a stomachache, since it has been consistent for a whole week now, and it's more of…an internal pain." The nurse nodded, surprised at Nagihiko's observations.

"Alright… Let me take a look." The doctor told Nagihiko to take off his shirt. Nagihiko complied, taking his shirt off.

"Don't you wish Rima was here?" Rhythm wondered. Temari giggled and they hi-fived. Nagihiko tried his best to ignore them. The nurse gently hit his stomach with a reflex hammer. When she got to his lower stomach, Nagihiko winced in pain.

"So that's the spot…" The nurse stopped. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine…" Nagihiko stammered, although it hurt a lot.

"I have a theory, but I need to test it." The nurse said. Nagihiko nodded, as the nurse ran an x-ray scan through Nagihiko. "Alright, I was correct. You broke a rib. It isn't a terribly huge deal, but I'd suggest you go to the hospital soon to fix it. For now, you should phone your mother, and skip school today. I'll tell your teacher."

"Thank you." Nagihiko said, as he put his shirt back on. As he walked outside, he called his mother, and explained the situation. Nagihiko waited by a tree for his mother.

"Where were you?" Nagihiko turned, seeing Amu, Tadase and Rima.

"I, um… I went to the bathroom, and then, my mother told me I needed to go home." Nagihiko lied, making a lame lie. Even Amu didn't believe him.

"Fujisaki-Kun…" Tadase sighed.

"Alright, fine… I went to the nurse and apparently, I have a broken rib. So, my mother is picking me up, and we're probably going to the hospital."

"Why did you go to the nurse initially?" Amu wondered.

"My stomach was hurting me…" Nagihiko admitted.

"Still?" Rima wondered, surprised.

"Rima, you knew his stomach was hurting?" Amu wondered. Rima blushed.

"On Christmas, I found Nagi after one of his transformations, and he stayed at my place for the morning until he transformed." Rima explained. "That day, he told me his stomach hurt. I guess it makes sense if his rib is broken."

"Is it connected to…" Tadase started.

"Probably…" Nagihiko sighed. "That's my mother. I'll see you guys, hopefully tomorrow if this is fixed and all fine."

"Bye Nagi." Rima called, as he started to leave. Nagihiko smiled at her.

"See you soon, Rima-Chan." Nagihiko said, as he turned and walked to his car.

"What was that?" Nagihiko heard Amu wonder to Rima.

"Nothing. Let's go to class." Nagihiko got into his car. He got into the passenger seat, as his mother started to drive.

"Mother, where are we going?" Nagihiko wondered.

"The hospital. We'll get the rib fixed first." His mother said sternly. Nagihiko noticed his mother's attitude.

"Mother, are you alright?" Nagihiko wondered.

"Nagihiko-San, there is something I have a feeling about. I suppose I will tell you now. I believe, each time you transform into the wolf, it sort of "tears" on your body. This time, it broke your rib. As you continue to transform in the future, it might be worse, and I only fear that it will…" Nagihiko's mother trailed off. Neither of them said anything. The dark truth of the matter dawned on Nagihiko. Time seemed to stop. Tears fell down Nagihiko's face. He faced the opposite direction of his mother, concealing his tears.

"Wait, I'm lost." Rhythm looked at Temari and Nagihiko. "What does that mean?"

"Rhythm…" Temari looked upset.

"I'm going to die." Nagihiko growled. Tears involuntarily fell down his face. The car stopped at the hospital. As Nagihiko got out of the car, he felt the pain again, but it seemed irrelevant. As Nagihiko took each step to the hospital, he continued to sob.

Every step I take… could be one of my last… Nagihiko thought grimly. He didn't know when he would die, which transformation would kill him. As they walked inside, Nagihiko wiped his tears away, and followed his mother.

"Excuse me, but my son broke his rib. Is there any way we could fix it?" The receptionist gave Nagihiko's mother a room, and Nagihiko followed his mother to the room.

"We need you to stay outside." The doctor said to Nagihiko's mother. His mother nodded, and walked outside. "We are going to put you to sleep." Nagihiko nodded slowly, as they put anesthesia in him, and he fell into a surprisingly peaceful sleep, given the situation.

When Nagihiko woke up, he was in a daze. He looked for the doctor, but couldn't find her. Rubbing his eyes, Nagihiko finally realized someone was there.

"…Kukai?" Nagihiko wondered, surprised.

"Hey Nagi! Are you normal now?" Nagihiko looked at his friend, puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"Before, you kept calling me Rima and saying that you were going to die. It was very peculiar." Nagihiko's face reddened.

"It must have been the anesthesia." Nagihiko said, sweat dropping. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard what happened to your rib, so I was visiting you. The doctor said you're staying here for the night." Kukai explained.

"Oh…joy…" Nagihiko muttered.

"So, how did your rib break in the first place?" Kukai wondered. Nagihiko looked at the ground, not wanting to tell Kukai about his imminent death.

"How do you think I broke my rib?" Nagihiko muttered. Kukai sighed, looking at his friend with sympathy.

"Hey, it's going to be better, I'm sure!" Kukai grinned, oblivious. Nagihiko looked at the ground, doing everything in his power to not cry. However, it wasn't enough, as tears forced their way down his face. "Hey Nagi…"

"Kukai…" Nagihiko was crying now, uncontrollably. Kukai put his hand on Nagihiko's shoulder, comfortingly. "Are the others here?" Nagihiko wondered.

"Not yet, but they said they would be…why?"

"Kukai, can you keep a secret?" Kukai nodded. "Each time I transform, it slowly harms my body, making it strain. So, my rib broke as an effect. It will only get worse, and one day, it will strain my body so much, I will…die." Kukai said nothing.

"…There's got to be a way. You can stop it. Oh come on, Nagi. You have to. Damn it, you're not dying! We'll find a way. You cannot die. Not happening. No. No. No." Nagihiko gave his friend a morose smile.

"Nagi!" The other four guardians walked in. Nagihiko quickly wiped his tears away. "How did the surgery go?"

"It went well, I believe. Kukai knows more than I do…" Nagihiko pointed out, turning to his friend.

"The doctor told me that they removed it for now." Kukai explained. "Nagi's okay." Nagihiko couldn't look at Kukai when he said that.

"That's good." Amu smiled. "That must be a relief."

"Yeah, it is." Nagihiko agreed, forcing a smile. "The pain is gone." That was true. Nagihiko, for once throughout this whole thing, felt alright. However, knowing he was going to die made up for all of the lack of pain. He couldn't bring himself to telling the other guardians. Kukai was someone Nagihiko trusted and told everything. Kukai was a lot like an older brother, and more than that, Nagihiko's best friend.

"YAY! NAGI-TAN IS PAINLESS!" Yaya squealed, hugging her friend. Nagihiko hugged Yaya back.

"Did I miss anything at the guardian meeting?" Nagihiko wondered, looking at Tadase.

"No… As you know, we're basically doing nothing." Tadase said, sweat dropping. "Right after school, the four of us decided to visit you. I'm glad to see you're doing better."

"Thanks Hotori-San." Nagihiko forced a smile. Rima stayed silent, but looked at Nagihiko, with worry. Nagihiko could tell that Rima didn't entirely believe he was okay.

"I should get going…See you soon Nagi!" Amu said. Yaya followed Amu out, ruffling Nagihiko's hair first.

"Feel better Fujisaki-Kun!" Tadase called. Kukai left as well, but gave Nagihiko an extremely grim face.

"What aren't you telling them?" Nagihiko looked up, surprised to still see Rima.

"Huh? There's nothing else." Nagihiko lied.

"Nagi, please. You can't magically 'be okay."

"I'm not! No one ever said that…" Nagihiko looked at the ground. "I'm still transforming. Rima-Chan, it's far from over. My rib is just better, which simply eliminates the pain, for now." Nagihiko deliberately ceased to tell Rima about his future death.

"Oh." Rima sighed. "Well, um, see you later, I guess."

"Bye Rima-Chan." Rima turned the other way, and began to leave. When she got to the door, she paused slightly.

"I love you." Rima whispered, before leaving. Nagihiko's eyes widened, not expecting her to say that. He started shaking a bit, before tears came down his face again. Temari and Rhythm looked at each other, unsure of how to cheer him up. Sighing, Nagihiko put his head on his pillow, and drifted into a restless sleep.

Please review/alert/favorite! I am going away this Saturday, and I probably won't update before then, so don't expect an update for a while. I apologize, but don't worry! I will think of ideas while I am on vacation, and shortly update when I get home.