a/n: yatta! an update! i enjoy writing this one and i luv all of u guys who reviewed! okay, akapunkyd, -little oro-, ss1128, ur all rite... hope u luv this chappie as much as i do (it's my fav for obvious reasons once u read it)

disclaimer: i don't own them dammit, now leave me the hell alone!

warning: definitely not for tomoe luvers...

Chapter 5: Good-byes & Relations Revealed (Enter Death)

"Megumi, thank god! She's over here." Kenshin pointed to the hospital bed.

"I'll have a look at her. Do you know of any existing illness?"

"None that I can think of," he told her.

"Hmmm." Megumi stepped closer to Tomoe. She was paler than she usually was and she was sweating. Megumi laid a hand on her forehead, but immediately withdrew it; she was burning up.

"Kamatari!" she yelled down the hall. "Get me a thermometer and a cold washcloth right away! Hurry!"

"What! What's wrong!" Kenshin asked frantically.

"She has a dangerously high fever. We have to break it or we might lose her before I even figure out what's wrong with her," she informed him quickly, rushing to get more cool compresses.

"Here you are Dr. Takani!" Kamatari handed her what she'd requested.

She took the thermometer first and inserted into Tomoe's ear and then drew it out when it beeped. Her eyes widened.

"105.7!" she exclaimed. "Kamatari! More compresses!"

"Right away!"

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"Flat line…" Megumi stared at it in shock. "Come on, we have to revive her!"

"Dr. Takani… it's too late. The pneumonia got her… she was dead before she even got here. Maybe if she'd come in earlier…" Kamatari said sadly.

"Th-then I guess I-I have to tell… Ken-san," she said quietly. Kamatari nodded in sad approval as 'she' drew a sheet over Tomoe's pretty (a/n: not) face.

Megumi walked out into the waiting room, a frown playing over her face. She didn't want to be the one to tell him about it. There was a reason she was a doctor and not a counselor. She'd never lost a patient before and to have the first be your friend's girlfriend…

"Ken-san?" she asked softly.

"Is she all right?"

"I, well… Kenshin… she didn't make it. She might have if she'd come in yesterday or even the day before. There was just no chance to fight it. Not today…" she told him regretfully and then she fled. She didn't want to see his face as it broke down.

Kenshin stared after her in disbelief. Dead? Tomoe? It couldn't be… it was all a joke. It had to be. She'd told him that it was nothing serious when he'd talked to her about why her voice had been failing her.

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'Don't worry, Kenshin," she assured him. "I'll be all right. It's just… just a chest cold.'

'Are you sure? It doesn't sound like 'just a chest cold.' Tomoe, I think I should take you to the doctor's. Just to be safe.'

'Kenshin, you worry too much.' She smiled at him. 'I'll be fine.'

'Tomoe…' he implored.

'Don't worry about it, please. It hurts me to see you so distressed over nothing.'

'But I want to worry about you,' he told her. 'It only means I care about you.'

She chuckled softly. 'I know, dearest. I know…'

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Kamatari watched as he broke down and cried. 'She' cast her eyes down and decided that he needed some counseling to help him deal with his loss. 'She' had a few good names and decided it was just what he needed. 'She' picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Sayo? It's Kamatari. I think you should come talk to this young man. His girlfriend just passed away due to pneumonia," 'she' said.

"Of course. I'll be right there," Sayo promised.

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Megumi crashed on her couch feeling ashamed. She'd never lost a patient. God, help Kenshin. While he was now single, Kaoru wouldn't be happy about how his status came to be that way. She needed someone to talk to. Someone who would understand and comfort her.

'Don't hesitate to use it…'

She picked up the phone and called 'Mr. Right.' She felt guilty about having to leave him hanging this morning on top of everything else that went wrong.

"Hello?"

"Hi," she said weakly.

"Megumi?"

"Yeah, it's me," she answered.

"What's up? You done with work?"

"Kind of. I…"

"Talk to me, Meg," he encouraged her.

"I… lost my first patient today," she admitted. "It was my friend's girlfriend. She had been sick and… and there was no chance, but he was so…"

"It's not your fault," he assured her. "There are no guarantees. You're an ER doctor. As in 'Emergency Room.' Meaning their situation is already dire, you just have to do all you can. Did you?"

"Yes, but he…"

"No. Don't worry about it. It's not your fault! And if he really is your friend, he'll understand."

"Poor Kenshin… he was so good to her. I never personally liked her, demo… she made him happy. That's what Kaoru always wanted." She started crying.

"Did… did you just say 'Kenshin?'"

"Hai." She sniffled. "Why?"

"I know a Kenshin. Red hair, purple eyes?"

"That's him," she affirmed. "How do you know him?"

"We went to school together. And…" he started to tell her they worked together at the bar, but remembered Kaoru's words.

'No indication to who you are…'

"And I feel sorry for him," he finished lamely.

"I… if you know Kenshin, does that mean you know Kaoru?" Megumi asked, a light dawning on her.

"Uh, Kaoru? No, I've never met her. He talks about her almost more than he does Tomoe, though," he replied not at all liking where the conversation was going.

"This is… doesn't it seem, I don't know, set up?" Megumi asked suspiciously.

On the other line, Sano stared at the floor in shock. "No."

"But the connections… you know Ken-san…"

"One connection, Meg. Don't worry. I promise I'm genuinely interested in you," he said.

"Kaoru just gets carried away sometimes… and that's why I thought maybe…"

"I don't personally know a Kaoru," he lied. "Don't worry about it. It'll be fine. I promise."

"If you say so."

"I do."

"I, well… hey would you like to go to lunch?"

"I can't. I'm sorry, but with Kenshin… it seems like I might have to go visit him," Sano said.

"No, I understand. I was being insensitive to Ken-san's feelings. He's hurting and I'm thinking of a lunch date," she berated herself harshly.

"We all think selfishly at one time or another."

"Oh, I hang on, I've got another call," Megumi told him. She hit the talk button to switch to the next line. "Hello?"

"Megumi?"

"Kaoru?"

"Did you know that Tomoe just… died?"

"Yes… I was… the doctor that was…"

"Oh, honey! You must be going crazy! I know how you think, Meg…"

"I… I'm okay with it. That guy I've been talking to all day… he knows Kenshin. Can you believe that? He knows it wasn't my fault… he's amazing, Kaoru," Megumi said to her.

"You've… actually talked to him? As in not hating him within two second, hanging up and trying to kill me?"

"No, I wanted to do lunch, but with all that's happened… I felt bad. Thinking about lunch when Kenshin…"

"I'll go see him," Kaoru promised. "Talk to Prince Charming."

"Okay." She chuckled before switching back to Sano.

"I'm back."

"I thought you'd never come back," he said.

"Well here I am."

"Oh, god doesn't like me… I have another call." He laughed at the irony.

"I'll wait for you!"

"Will do," and he switched. "Hello?"

"It's me."

"Jou-chan!"

"Don't ever agree to lunch. She'll piss her pants! And then she'll throw you out on your ass. You have to establish a relationship first. And don't, under any circumstances, give her your name."

"Okay."

"I'm going to go visit Kenshin. Are you going to come?"

"Later. Get him back to his place," Sano told her.

"I will."

"Bye."

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"Kenshin?" Kaoru asked timidly, coming into the hospital's waiting room. He looked up at her, his vivid violet eyes welled up with unshed tears.

"Kao-ru…" he broke her name up as he sobbed in his agony. She rushed over to him and took him in her arms to comfort him.

"It'll be okay," she promised. "It'll be okay."

"Nooo."

"Shhhh," she cooed, rocking him back and forth.

He held her against him, thankful for the comfort she gave. She stroked his hair, murmuring reassurances. She sighed heavily and silently. She finally had the man of her dreams in her arms and it was to comfort him over the loss of his girlfriend. His true love.

"Why don't we go back to you house?" she asked him quietly. "I'll tell you something that'll cheer you up, but you have to keep your mouth shut about it, okay?"

He nodded without a word and stood up. She took his arm and led him to her car, not trusting him to drive in his own by himself. Not in his condition. She opened the passenger door for him and helped him in. She shut his door and made her way over to the driver's side.

They arrived at his house in practically no time and Kaoru helped him out again; grief had taken most of his strength. Once she had him sitting on his couch, she took a deep breath before telling him about the whole entire plan…

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"Hey, Meg," Sano said. "I gotta go. Kenshin's back at his place and he'll probably need some help."

"Oh, it's okay. I'll talk to you later?"

"Definitely. I'll call you when I get back, okay?"

"Sounds good. Bye…"

"Later Megumi."

She hung up the phone and a light dawned on her. She didn't even know this man's name, yet she was… infatuated with him. At least with his voice. And he knew Kenshin. It was just all too confusing. She knew Kaoru would go to extreme lengths to get her together with some guy and this would be no exception if she did in fact turn out to be behind it. Lord help the tanuki if she was because she wouldn't live through her next visit if she was.