AN: I am SO SORRY!!! ::begs for mercy at the feet of the audience:: I've had this written for a while but haven't had the chance to get it up! And DON'T WORRY...I'll try to get moving a bit faster

To Angry Sou/Mi Fan : The boy Soujiro met at the river back in chapter 21was most obviously Enishi. Kindred spirits, one might say, know what the other is thinking. Both were upset over relationships at the time. And I said in a previous author's note that I had intended a Sou/Mi pairing, and again, he never had any completely suicidal thoughts. If you would like to learn up on suicide, please take a Psychology class as I have done this year, or go to

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed this time around, I wish I could comment on everyone, but there's just too many to list! So you know who you are, thanks millions.

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Kenshin grumbled as he turned the key in the ignition. Sighing, he checked his mirror and pulled out a little notepad from one of the large pockets in his baggy gray pants.

"Balloons?" Kenshin asked.

"Check. Arrived safe and sound to their destination." Sanosuke nodded.

"Cake?"

"Check," Aoshi crossed his arms, ready to get a move on.

"Games?"

"Check!" chimed in Soujiro. "All in the trunk and ready to go!"

"Party favors?"

"Got 'em." Sano pointed to the backseat, where boxes were stacked next to Soujiro.

"And Mrs. Makoto is providing the music and the kids." Kenshin finished marking in the little notepad and put the car in reverse. The three boys began to shudder and wince in anticipation.

Kenshin drove fairly well, and got everyone and everything to the destination intact. They began unloading the little car and setting up the room Mrs. Makoto had rented at Party Land for her daughter. Yumi (Mrs. Makoto) met them there and was all smiles.

"Good, good! Shina is so happy that you're going to be here! I would stay, but I have a staff meeting to go to and I really trust you boys with my baby. Take pictures, please? Shina won't be too disappointed, we're having a family party later this weekend."

Aoshi paled. He had been counting on Mrs. Makoto to keep her daughter and her little friends in line. Mrs. Makoto waved and hopped off to her car. Sanosuke looked close to tears and Kenshin made a face that made him look as if he wanted to pass out. Soujiro took it all relatively well.

"Well, we'll have fun, right guys? It's a Pretty Pretty Princess Party, after all."

"Oh, god…" Kenshin groaned.

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Kaoru rolled her eyes. Ever since Misao had become somewhat official with Soujiro, it made her the odd one out when Magdaria came over. All they could talk about was boyfriends. Soujiro this, Sanosuke that. She was happy that they were happy, but Kaoru had had her fill of boyfriends.

True, Enishi had been her only relationship. She barely remembered the 'happy' years when Enishi had been really sweet and romantic. The change in his behavior had been so gradual she didn't notice his extreme mood swings until it was too late. Kaoru sighed, but Magdaria and Misao didn't notice. Why did they get the good boyfriends who were all love and romance? Sanosuke, actually, wasn't too much of a sappy-roses-and-poetry sort of man, but he still had his little moments. Soujiro, of course, was a musician, which was extremely popular in the world of amour at the time.

"Well, we actually got into a little disagreement the other day." Magdaria sighed, stirring her straw in her ice water.

"Really?" asked Misao. Kaoru perked up, beginning to pay attention again. While she didn't wish Magdaria any harm, she was glad that her relationship wasn't perfect and smooth.

"One day it will turn into a really big argument….it kind of blew over once it started….but he's getting more suspicious…"

"Of what?" Kaoru asked, suddenly.

"My coughing, my shortness of breath, my sudden absences. Haven't you guys noticed?"

"Well, yeah, but we didn't really get too worried….you said it was just asthma. You're fine, right?" Misao asked worriedly.

"Okay…I consider you all my friends now. So I'm going to tell you the truth, all right?"

Kaoru and Misao glanced at each other and nodded their heads. Magdaria took a deep inhalation of breath, and closed her eyes.

"I have a disease called tuberculosis."

Misao brightened up, interrupting the story, "Oh! But that's highly curable, so you're all right…" Magdaria shook her head.

"Actually, no. They diagnosed me with tuberculosis about five years ago, but the treatment never worked. The doctors considered the possibility of other similar diseases but it just didn't match up. Now they think they either misdiagnosed me and screwed me over with the wrong treatment, or that I have some sort of….mutated form of tuberculosis. It's very complicated, and they use all these medical terms that I never understand…

I get hospitalized from time to time and I rest a while, but I'm just going to die…sometime soon, they say I probably won't make it to the age of twenty, but they don't even know if I'm going to be alive two months from now. It's all very unpredictable."

"Magdaria…I'm…so sorry…" Kaoru whispered, tears welling up in her eyes as she raised her hand to her mouth.

"It's okay…we're all going to die anyway." Magdaria smiled, half-heartedly. "But I want you to promise me…don't tell Sanosuke or anyone else who would potentially tell him. I don't want him to know just yet….it could complicate things."

"Right," Misao nodded sagely. Kaoru sadly agreed.

"Thanks, guys."

"We're here for you, Magdaria." Kaoru reached across the table to squeeze the saddened girl's arm. Misao did likewise.

"Yeah, we're here."

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"Are you the clown?" a little girl in a green princess gown asked Sanosuke.

"For the four hundred and thirty-second time, NO." Sanosuke shouted, while trying to rig up the piñata. Five other little girls saw his fruitless attempt and squealed as they ran over to him.

"PIÑATA, PIÑATA, PIÑATA!!!" they shouted. Sanosuke was nearly knocked over by the barrage of mini-women, but he succeeded in tying the string to the paper-maché castle.

"All right, all right!" Sano bellowed.

"Hey girls, it's piñata time!" Kenshin alerted the other girls by the pink plastic vanity that held every item of play makeup he had ever seen. Shina was among them, and the remainder of the party guests ran over to Sanosuke.

"Princess Shina gets to go first!" one cried. Kenshin sighed with relief: he had anticipated a battle for the first whacking. Sano pulled on the string rigged to the ceiling and the castle rose to an appropriate beating level. "Princess" Shina was blindfolded and handed the stick.

"Okay, take a whack at it." Sano prodded gently. Shina lifted the stick. "WOAH! Woah, to your left! LEFT, LEFT, OTHER LEFT!" he screeched, trying to get the stick as far as possible from his manly (and yet highly vulnerable) area.

"Shina, if you deny me the joy of fatherhood, or even fornication, you're in deep doggy doodoo." Sano grumbled. Shina ignored him, and began waving the stick madly in the air.

"Come on Shina!" Aoshi, Kenshin, Soujiro, and the little girls cheered her on. "A little lower!" Aoshi added.

"Wait, higher, be careful for Sano!" Kenshin added.

"SHINA! NOT THERE!" Aoshi ran to catch her, but it was too late, and Sano had no time to move. The stick came down, jabbing him in the fly of his pants.

"I got it, I got it!" Shina repeatedly whacked Sanosuke until he was blinded by pain and fell to the floor, hoping to every deity that he would slip into a coma to escape the agony. The castle came crashing down and split open.

"CANDY, CANDY!" the little girls squealed, making a mad dash for the pile of sugary goodness. Shina lifted the blindfold and ran to grab for her share, still believing she was the one to have broken the piñata.

"Oh…my…do you think we should call for an ambulance? I think his eyes rolled back in his head." Soujiro wondered aloud.

"I'm…..fffffffffinnnnneeeeee…." Sanosuke wheezed in response.

"Sano, maybe you should go sit down and have a glass of Princess Pink Strawberry Punch." Kenshin nodded, as gravely as possible without bursting out into fits of laughter. Sano glowered at him, but a smile played at his lips.

"Yes, I would love a glass of Princess Pink Strawberry Punch." Sano replied, as seriously as he could.

"Aoshi, would you like a glass of Princess Pink Strawberry Punch? Because I'm heading over to the bowl of Princes Pink Strawberry Punch."

"I'm fine, thanks." Aoshi rolled his eyes.

"Soujiro, would you like a glass of Princess Pink Strawberry Punch?"

"Why yes, I would LOVE a glass of Princess Pink Straw-"

"SHUT UP!" Aoshi commanded. "Okay, I think they've all gotten a sugar high by now, get some more games to drain their energy."

"Pin the tail on the donkey!!!" the little girls chanted over and over. Soujiro grinned and began setting up what would soon become a dangerous game. The donkey poster was set to the wall with thumbtacks, and another little girl was blindfolded and handed a tail with a pin. She was spun around three times by the other girls, and went teetering off looking for the donkey.

A myriad of other little girls were sitting at the pink vanity, exploring each and every container of exaggerated, kid-safe makeup. Shina began rubbing a cotton swab in a purple tin of lip gloss.

"I think purple will look best on you, Aoshi." Shina nodded, in all seriousness. Other girls repeated the gesture of approval.

"Waaaaaaaait, wait ,waaaaaaait a minute…" Aoshi put his hands up in protest, but was silenced by the purple goo that was being wiped around his mouth. Shina was no cosmetologist, and had shining purple gloss spread quite a distance from Aoshi's actual lip line.

"I think an orange based rouge will look splendid." One of Shina's friends chimed in, brushing on the garishly tangerine-colored powder. Aoshi could do nothing but sit in a paralysis of horror.

"BLUE eye shadow to bring out your eyes." Shina applied a deep blue paste well up to his eyebrows, rubbing it in so hard Aoshi thought it might leave a stain on his skin.

"Can I paint your nails now?" Shina asked hopefully.

"NO! Eh, I mean…no. No, that's all right. I'll go…check on Kenshin."

Kenshin was, in fact, in deep trouble. Four little princesses were in a 'deep slumber', and refused to get up until he, the 'handsome prince charming', kissed them and broke the spell.

One: Kenshin did not want to touch them

Two: Kenshin failed to see how he, a black cloud of gloom and doom, appealed to six year olds

Three: He didn't quite know how to choose which one to kiss without offending or upsetting the other three.

When he presented Aoshi with this tantalizing predicament, Aoshi merely laughed and marched right back to the vanity so he could have a good view of Kenshin's misery. Sanosuke was preparing the cake, and Soujiro was helping the last little girl have her turn at pin the tail on the donkey. All seemed to be going quite smoothly since the whole piñata incident.

Then, Sanosuke burned his finger, consequently dropping the match and lighting a pile of napkins on fire. Kenshin refused to kiss any of the girls, and ended up running away from an angry mob of princess-costumed six year olds. Aoshi watched in horror as a bottle of green nail polish was spilled on one of his brand new boots, and Soujiro was stabbed in the ass by a donkey tail pin as he laughed at the rest of the teen boys.

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Saitou lit another cigarette, reveling in the peace and calmness that it gave him. Amakusa was out at some church doodad, Magdaria was out with friends, the boys were out doing some birthday party thing for his colleague Professor Shishio, and the plumber had FINALLY gotten his lazy ass up and called him to tell him the good news. Saitou's house had a brand-spanking new plumbing system, and it was ready to be used. Saitou didn't really want to test out the plumbing system, though; he wanted to hop back into his familiar bed with his newspaper, coffee mug, and worn out bathrobe.

He realized that he would miss the dorm a little…he had gotten used to the shitty coffee maker, the low supply of hot water (that Amakusa and Magdaria ALWAYS used up with their freakin' long showers), and the fact that the air conditioning unit was the product of Satan and never obeyed anyone's prodding or poking. At the very moment Saitou believed the room temperature to be about -60 degrees. The Norwegian maid was pretty hot too. Saitou would definitely miss her.

"Ah well; que sera, sera." Saitou mused as he snubbed out the cigarette butt.

"Hey Uncle Saitou." Magdaria walked in, closing the door behind her and letting her purse drop on the coffee table.

"You don't look too swift." Saitou responded. "Cigarette smoke still in the air? I just put out my last cigarette a minute ago."

"No, I didn't really notice." Magdaria slumped down on the couch next to Saitou. Saitou became increasingly uncomfortable: he felt a girl talk coming on, and it was coming on fast. Saitou was NOT a mother, or even a father for that matter. Though he dealt with kids every day, Saitou had a "step-on-me-the-wrong-way-and-I'll-strangle-you" relation ship with students, not a "let's-have-a-cup-of-tea-and-talk-about-how-petunias-are-doing-this-season" relationship.

"I told Kaoru and Misao that I'm sick."

…..annnnnnnd isn't that something a person would normally tell their friends?

Magdaria noticed that "So what?" look on her uncle's face and tried to explain.

"I don't tell people that I'm sick because then they feel sorry for me and our friendship just becomes a big pity party for me."

"Makes sense." Saitou nodded. He wished the TV were on so he could pretend like he was listening but tune her out.

"I just…I don't know if it was the right time to tell them yet. And I told them not to tell Sanosuke."

"Why can't they tell Sanosuke?"

"Because he gets mad when I lie to him. And I just…it's too early in the relationship for-"

"Relationship?" Saitou asked, with a calmness in his voice that was a bit unnerving.

"Um…yeah, didn't I tell you that…Sano and…I…are…"

"Re-lationship?" Saitou asked again, his voice a rasped whisper.

"Uncle Saitou, I know you don't like Sanosuke…" Magdaria sighed and cocked her head to the left.

"RELATIONSHIP? What part about Sanosuke Sagara makes you want to be in a RE-LA-TION-SHIP with HIM?! I wouldn't be in a relationship with that scum if we were the last people on earth-"

"Because you're not gay-"

"Damn straight I'm not gay! Listen, seriously. Magdaria, you will be a much better woman….lady….girl….thing…without Sagara. Please listen to me. The guy is a bum. A nut job. A crack head. He's done every drug in the book. His parents are dead, his sister is a workaholic, therefore he is a psychopath. It is for your benefit, your well being, that you end things with him." Saitou finished his rampage, then as an afterthought, added, "Please."

Magdaria looked up at her uncle with a look of mild shock. Her brow twisted in confusion and concern, and she didn't answer him at first.

"He…he's on drugs?" she whispered. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

Ohhhhhhhhh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh SHIT! NICE one, Saitou. You made her cry, you said something you COMPLETELY shouldn't have, you stupid ass…

"You…didn't know?"

"NO, I didn't KNOW! If I had…I…I don't know what I would have done."

"I'm…sorry, Magdaria. I didn't know you weren't aware. Uh…you…um…want ice cream or something?"

"No, that's okay uncle Saitou, I'm just going to go back to my room…"

"But…oh…well…….okay…." Saitou muttered.

As Magdaria hurried down the hallway, Saitou turned on the TV to drown out the sound of her crying. Saitou seemed to think it was the courteous thing to do: he wouldn't want anyone hearing HIM cry. Despite the fact he didn't want a close relationship with his niece at the get go, he felt a little sorry now that he didn't have the guts to stand up, go to her room, and comfort the grieving child he had only known for little more than half a year.

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The battle-weary troop of birthday party-hosts arrived mangled and defeated at their doorstep. Aoshi barely had the energy to turn the key in the lock. When the door opened, the four boys nearly fell into the dorm, but they dragged themselves on the way to their respective beds. Soujiro headed over to their brand-new answering machine they had had installed but two days ago, hoping to have a call from Misao. The little red number flashed 3, giving them the sign of 3 messages.

"BEEP - Hey, Sou, it's Misao. Didn't know you had an answering machine…so…I pretty much have nothing to say. Kinda thinking about going to the movies this weekend, maybe with Kaoru and Magdaria, she said she'd invite Sano-"

"WOOT!" Sano pumped his fist into the air, "Make-out city!"

"SHHH!!!" Soujiro hissed.

"-but nothing really good is out, and Magdaria hasn't been feeling well. And Kaoru is all pissed because we want to bring the boys and she doesn't have a date…so…I dunno, maybe Kenshin can come? So I guess I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Damn…" Sano looked crestfallen.

"No make-out city, eh?" Kenshin chuckled. The second message came on.

"BEEP - ….what the hell is this? I didn't want this….MAGDARIA!! YOU GAVE ME THAT JERKWAD'S NUMBER INSTEAD OF THE TAKE OUT ONE! Dammit…oh…shit this thing is still recording….well, while I'm still here…Sagara, you have a short story due next Tuesday. I trust you remember from your excellent note taking the subject I gave you. No less than ten pages!"

"Asshole…" Sanosuke muttered. Soujiro grinned.

"Wait, wait, there's one more." He hushed the rest of the boys.

"BEEP- Hey…Sano…we need to talk-"

Everyone froze and paid complete attention. Those were words that no man in a relationship ever wanted to hear.

"-apparently, you didn't trust me with a certain bit of information about yourself. Oh…and if Misao left a message about going to the movies, I'm not going. I'm sure you'll be fine with people who know you better." There was a long pause, and Sano thought she might say something else, but there was a loud click, and the answering machine stopped. Her message was over.

"Oooooooooooo…" Sano's three roommates grinned. "You're in trouuuuuuble…." Well, Aoshi didn't really participate as enthusiastically as the others, which was expected.

"Shut up," Sano grumbled. He was seriously hurt and confused by the message Magdaria had left, and these were feelings he had never had much experience with since the death of his parents. Living with his sister, Adzuma, had taught him nothing. The walls had been his closest companions as far as he was concerned, and he could mimic their behavior quite well: he was dispassionate, and closed off. He hid himself and his flaws with the finicky veil of drugs, and most times with an angry, loud exterior. He played everything with the "tough guy" card. If people were intimidated, they wouldn't have time to think or look, and find the seriously stunted extent of emotions Sanosuke had.

"Sano, maybe you should call her." Kenshin tried again, this time with seriousness.

"I don't know…you think she'd be pissed? Should I wait for her to call me again?"

"Don't look at me…girls are more complex than my AP Computer Science class." Soujiro shook his head from side to side. Aoshi offered no advice, and Kenshin had no further knowledge of experience to apply to the situation. He and Tomoe had never fought until the break up.

The three roommates looked at Sanosuke warily as he picked up the phone. Sanosuke knew what they were thinking, and the same fearsome idea was screaming inside his head.

What if she breaks up with me? She can't break up with me…what have I not told her? Who could have possibly told her something about me that she would believe?

He dialed the number with a shaky hand. He could have really used a cigarette, or a needle, or something. But he had given that up after his first meeting with Magdaria. It had been painful as hell and he never wanted to relive those long, desperate weeks again, but he'd do it all over again to win Magdaria back if he had to.

The phone rang three times before it was picked up.

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"Hello?" Magdaria picked up the phone. Her mood had been drastically changing from angry to upset, back and forth, and it was taking a toll on her body. The sobbing she had just curbed to a minimum was causing pain in her chest and it was getting harder to breathe. She tried to stop crying as best she could, but she was already starting to see spots. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping it would stop.

"Magdaria? It's Sanosuke…I want to know what's going on…"

"Sano?" Magdaria's air supply was growing smaller and smaller, and she fought to keep consciousness. She already felt like she was slipping, and had a hard time listening to Sano's voice.

"Yeah…are you okay?" Sanosuke . Silence greeted him. "Are you crying?" Sano asked.

"A little…Sano, why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Sano asked, almost frantically.

Magdaria clutched the edge of her bed. The room was spinning, the spots were bigger, Sano's voice was further away.

"Tell me…you…you're…the drugs…" she wheezed.

"The…what? Drugs? Oh, Magdaria…I can explain, I really can, we just need to do this face to face. I'm not on drugs anymore, I gave them up a while ago…I'm really sorry…Magdaria? Are you okay?"

A frightening sound, something of a cross between a groan and a shriek, passed from Magdaria's lips as she slumped over and tumbled to the floor. The phone fell away from her hand, and she began desperately to gasp for breath. Her lungs tightened with pain as the air never made its way into her chest cavity. Again, she tried to inhale, the sound of which was a terrifying rasp.

Not again, not again, not again! Please, no, not this time, not now…

She didn't hear Sano shouting again and again if she was all right, and she passed out before she heard him hang up the phone.

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Sano stepped away from the phone as if it were a toothy demon come to shred his face to pieces. He turned to the other boys who were watching intently.

"I think…something happened. She just….it sounded like she was screaming or something."

"I'll call the emergency number," Aoshi picked up the phone. Soujiro decided to wait with Aoshi, and Kenshin sprinted out of the dorm after Sano, who had started to viscously kick at the locked door. With Kenshin's help, the door was safely opened with his student ID card, and Sano tore through the living space, looking for Magdaria. Kenshin stood bewildered in the doorway.

Sano bolted into Magdaria's bedroom, and found her on the floor, passed out. She was lying on her side, the phone not far from her. After turning her on her back, he lightly shook her, tried gently slapping the sides of her face, calling her name. She would not wake.

"Kenshin, do you know CPR?" Sano shouted, the shreds of dignity in him begging him not to panic.

"Yeah, I do." Kenshin appeared in the doorway, then knelt by Magdaria's side. Normally Kenshin would have freaked out and fainted himself, but now was not the time. The moment was surreal and slow, as if they had all the time in the world to bring an unfortunate soul back from the dead. Sano saw Kenshin in a different light…a strong, determined man knelt before him in place of the short, unhappy boy dressed in somber colors.

"I'll push on her chest, and you breathe into her mouth when I tell you to. Close her nose." Kenshin announced, placing his hands in position. "One, two three, breathe." Kenshin finished pushing her chest, and Sano leaned over to give his own oxygen to the unconscious girl. They tried again and again, but she would not wake.

"She seems to be breathing a little easier now." Sano noted. Aoshi then made his grand entrance into the room, followed by paramedics. Magdaria was lifted onto a gurney, and rushed to the elevator to be put in an ambulance. The paramedics were barking orders at one another, and they obeyed each command that was asked of them. Sano followed after them, pushing the buttons on the elevator as one free paramedic began talking to him.

"What is her name?" the short, blonde man asked. He adjusted his glasses as he began filling out forms on a clipboard.

"Magdaria Muto."

"When did you find her?"

"Only a few minutes ago." Sano did not like the pale man. He was too calm, too indifferent. Magdaria was a human being….hell, she was better than other human beings. She deserved better than this white-robed moron.

"What happened?" the paramedic continued.

"We were on the phone, and she must have passed out." Sano responded as he fidgeted his hands in his pockets.

"What is your relation with her?"

"I'm her boyfriend…" Sano replied again, though silently he whispered "I hope."

"Do you know of any medical conditions she may have?" The man was still furiously scribbling on the forms as they walked outside into the parking lot. Students were already gathering around as Magdaria was loaded into the ambulance. Some were crying even though they didn't know who she was, others just craned their necks and wondered what was going on. Other kids from the dorms on the first floor had come out to see the action. Sano looked up at the building and saw still more students plastered to their windows, staring at the scene outside.

"Sir?" The paramedic prompted, looking up at Sano for the first time since the start of their conversation.

"No….she said she had something a little like asthma. But I don't know what she called it." Sano's anger was pulsing faster through him. Magdaria was not in a TV program. She didn't need all these people gaping at her.

"Hey…hey, I'm talking to you!" Sano snapped at one girl that was closest to the ambulance. "FUCK OFF! Go back to your dorm, there's nothing to see here!"

"Hey!" another boy shouted back "Calm down…she's just concerned like the rest of us…."

"Concerned my ASS! Leave her the fuck alone!" Sano bellowed. "And don't you tell me to calm down…..my girlfriend is in that ambulance and I have no idea if she's going to live or die. So you can just FUCK off and go to HELL!" Sano started towards the crowd, and they began stepping back. Two other paramedics caught and restrained him.

"Do we need to give you a sedative or would you like to escort Miss Muto to the hospital?" the blonde man asked.

"Yeah, yeah, that would be good." Sano nodded. He thought he might vomit on the spot, but he kept his cool. He couldn't help spitting at the feet of the one boy that had seriously pissed him off before hopping onboard the emergency vehicle. Once inside, the blonde paramedic brought out a laptop. Sano took one of Magdaria's hands in his own and kept it pressed to his lips as he closed his eyes and prayed that she would be all right.

"Did you say her name was Muto, Magdaria?" the paramedic asked.

"Yeah." Sano opened one eye and glared at the man.

"Well, she has a record with the hospital we're going to. It appears that Miss Muto has tuberculosis."

"What's that?" Sano opened both eyes, releasing his feelings of anger, hoping he would be rewarded with information. The whole situation he was in was mind-blowing.

"It's a terminal disease that is normally treated quite effortlessly…it seems that she hasn't been able to be treated and has been ill since the age of fourteen."

Sano looked down at the calm, expressionless face that belonged to the only woman he would ever love. How could she have been so upset over something he didn't tell her when she hadn't even told him one of her deepest and fatal secrets?

Sano rubbed her hand against his cheek, and a tear slid down his face as her fingers curled and relaxed in a single, swift moment.

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ANOTHER AN: Funny in the beginning, eh? Little kids can do so much to liven up a story....but yeah.....do NOT worry about Magdaria. I have many things in store for her and Sano. Just wanted to make sure I wouldn't get flamed for that....