My senior year was very busy for me. Between attending school functions, mediating disputes and planning out the year's activities I had barely any time for rest. Natsuki and I didn't see much of each other that year.

Fortunately when my parents heard about my being elected president they were elated. So elated, in fact, that my father went out and bought me my first car. I was practically beaming as my father walked me around the car lot pointing out certain features, assuring me money was no object and being a general nuisance about the whole thing. We were approaching the end of the lot when I saw it.

It wasn't the make of the model that called out to me, I don't remember what kind of car it was or even who made it. It wasn't the top speed or the acceleration or the built in disk player, quite rare at the time, nor the leather seats that attracted me to this particular car. It was the color. Emerald green, the same color as Natsuki's eyes. As soon as I saw it I knew that it was the car I wanted.

My father protested. He pointed out that there were newer models of the same car on the lot, that the leather seats would crack with exposure and be too cool in the winter and too hot in the summer, that the disc player would drain the battery too quickly. I assured him that I didn't care about any of those things. That I wanted to drive a car that reminded me of Natsuki. He sighed and relented.

The first place I headed to with my new car was Natsuki's apartment. I knocked and knocked but she never answered. I guessed she wasn't at home. From there I headed to a nearby store and purchased a few CDs for the new player in my car. I headed directly home after that to call Natsuki and tell her the good news. I called, but no answer. A knot tightened in my stomach, Natsuki had always answered when I called her. I brushed it aside, I'll see her at school tomorrow I thought as I lay my head down and fell asleep.

-IPR-

The next day I parked my car in the spot next to the one that Natsuki usually filled with her bike. I turned the car off and waited for Natsuki to show up, but I waited in vain. I waited as long as I could, but had to head to the president's office before she showed up. The knot in my stomach tightened a bit more.

I opened the door to my office and sat behind my desk, a desk that Natsuki and I had 'used' before. I still felt a tingle in my belly whenever I sat down behind it. I had to fill out some forms before class started, supplies for a carnival that I had spearheaded, and I'm always one for promptness. I had hoped that she would come bursting through the door and apologize for being late but the first bell rang and she never showed up. My stomach tightened even more.

I sat patiently through class waiting for lunch time, almost shaking at how much I wanted to see Natsuki. The lunch bell rang and I headed immediately for the bathroom that we met in. I threw the door open expecting to see blue hair and green eyes, expecting to meet soft lips and smooth skin. She wasn't there and my stomach knot turned to a full worry. I resolved to head immediately to Natsuki's apartment after school.

I waited patiently through classes and was about to run for my car when Reito caught up to me. "Hey, Shizuru, you didn't forget about the meeting this afternoon did you?"

Oh crap, I had forgotten. "Do you think you can run it for me? I need to check something."

"I noticed that Kuga wasn't in school today. Could it have something to do with that?" He knew, and his moment for revenge had come. I lowered my eyes and nodded, fully prepared for the worst, but Reito put a hand on my shoulder. "I can cover for you. Go find her."

I was overcome by his generosity, but more so with concern for my girlfriend. "Thanks, Reito. I'll make it up to you." I ran to my new car and drove straight to Natsuki's apartment, occasionally breaking the speed limits.

When I arrived I knocked furiously. "Natsuki." I called out. "Natsuki open the door." I knocked and knocked and was surprised when the door opened. It hadn't been locked. My heart and stomach did tandem somersaults as I stepped into the darkened apartment. "Natsuki?"

I walked carefully through the apartment, placing my feet softly so as not to make a sound. I stepped into the living room and nearly fainted. It was a disaster. Drawers were flung open and the sofa lay on it's side, the cushions were cast haphazardly around the room, the TV was shattered as if something had struck it. I held my hand over my mouth as I picked through the room and headed to the kitchen. It was much the same as the living room, drawers tossed around, the refrigerator lay open with food laying on the floor. "What happened here?"

The sound of pans clattering startled me and I nearly jumped out of my skin. A cat hopped up onto the counter and hissed at me before jumping out of the window. I let out the breath I had been holding and my panic increased. "Natsuki, please answer me." No answer, so I picked my way to the bedroom.

The door was shut. I turned the knob slowly, making as little sound as possible. I opened the door slowly and lying on her bed, wrapped up in a dozen or so blankets, was the love of my life. I don't know whether she woke up when I shouted her name or when I threw myself at her but she looked at me with the reddest eyes and coughed for a bit before she spoke. "Shizuru? Why are you here?"

Her voice was raspy and she sounded groggy. None of that stopped me from pulling her into the tightest hug I've ever given. "Oh, Natsuki, I was so worried when you didn't answer me and when you didn't show up for school so I came to look for you and found your door open and I was so scared something had happened to you." I had to catch my breath after that one.

"I must have forgotten to lock it."

"But the living room looked like a storm hit it."

"Yeah, I was looking for some aspirin but didn't find any."

"But what about the TV?"

"Yeah, I was playing my Nintendo when I got mad and threw my controller at the TV. I really do need to be more careful."

"But the refrigerator was open and food was lying everywhere."

"Dammit, that refrigerator falls apart sometimes. I've yelled and yelled at the apartment manager but he doesn't care."

"But the cat."

Just then the same cat came sneaking in through the window. Natsuki grabbed a nearby shoe and struck the cat right in the face. "Get out of here, you damn cat." The cat ran out the window screeching. "I hate cats." She started coughing again before she buried her head in my chest.

"Natsuki," I asked, "are you sick?"

"If I say yes, will you promise not to go all mom on me?"

I put on my best 'I don't know what you're talking about' look. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, Shizuru, I'm sick."

Natsuki lay down and I ran my hands through her hair. "Then I'm going to take care of you, but first I'm going to clean your kitchen."

I walked to the kitchen and immediately regretted my bravado. The kitchen was a disaster, but with perseverance, and finding some well placed cleaning products amongst the mess, I managed to get it done in only two hours.

My next chore was to find some chicken noodle soup for Natsuki, but a cursory sweep of the refrigerator left only several jars of mayonnaise and some lunch meat. Seriously, mayonnaise. So I grabbed my keys and made my way to the bedroom. "Natsuki?" I kissed her forehead, which felt like the side of an oven. "I'm going to the store to get you something to eat. I'll be right back, honey." She stirred but didn't wake up and I left the apartment and headed to my car.

I bought Natsuki some cans of chicken noodle soup and a bottle of NyQuil then rushed back to her apartment. I cooked the soup for Natsuki and gently woke her up. "Sit up, baby, I made some soup for you."

She ate a few spoonfuls. "You promised not to go all mom on me."

"No I didn't, now open up." I fed her the rest of the bowl and then handed her the NyQuil. She popped the cap and started drinking until I grabbed the bottle from her. "Easy, you'll die."

She lay back down, "I already am."

I rubbed her back and she purred. "Quit being dramatic. Get some rest."

She rolled over and I lay down beside her. We lay together in silence for a time. I don't remember how long, but the next time I looked at the clock it read 11:59. Natsuki rolled over and kissed me gently on the cheek. "I love you." She muttered as the clock struck twelve. I was so touched that I started laughing. She rolled back over and I got comfortable. "I promised." Her last words before blissful sleep.

-IPR-

I awoke to find the bed empty. I yawned and stretched, my clothes were dirty and I needed a shower. I got out of bed and found Natsuki in the kitchen. She looked a little better, but still a bit pale. Her eyes said thank you for taking care of me, while her words said "Good morning, sweetheart."

I kissed her and sat beside her. "Good morning, do you feel any better?"

"A bit, but not enough to ride. I guess I'll have to call in sick again today."

"Call in ..." Of course. I could have just asked the secretary if she had called in sick. As student council president I was privy to such information. "Right. I don't think that will be necessary. You can just ride with me."

"Is your mom coming to get you?"

"Come see for yourself."

I led her outside, she squinted at the first light she had seen in a day, and showed her to my new car. "Cool, you got a car. And it's a great color, too."

"It's the same color as your eyes, that's why I bought it." She smiled, I had touched her. "I need a shower, and I'll bet you do, too." I took her hand in mine, "Come on, I'll wash your back."

-IPR-

"I remember that car as if I just drove it." As soon as the words leave her mouth, the oxygen in her lungs follows. She choks and retches and tries to breath but it becomes impossible. Dr. Heinrich merely sits there and watches as she struggles in her chair, choking to death.

She begins to grow faint, when she hears it. It seems to come from the room around her, from everywhere at once. Natsuki's voice. "Breathe." I'm trying, baby, I'm trying. "Please, breathe Shizuru."

She is blacking out when the pressure in her chest ceases and the air returns to her lungs. She lies back in the chair and just breathes for a while. "Would you care to continue?" She hears his voice but it's distant, like she's hearing it from another room. He asks again, only this time it's clear. "Would you care to continue?"

"I should probably go home and change." She speaks the words, but when she tries to think about how she had gotten there she can't remember.

"Would you care to continue?"

Ten chapters. What does everyone think so far? (taps on monitor) Is anyone reading this?