A/N: This is an AU

The smoke was everywhere. It burned his eyes and infested his nose, choking out the breath from his lungs. Flames licked the once grand office, feasting on the abundant resources of paper and wood. There was a loud crack, and a portion of the ceiling caved in, revealing an even larger flame in the room above.

Ren jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding certain death.

"Which way should I go?" he yelled, coughing hard into his jacket. His eyes were watering so bad he could hardly see. It was so hot! The heat and fumes were searing his skin, making him dizzy from the pain.

"This way!" yelled a clear female voice.

Ren followed her voice, barely able to stay conscious. He could just make out her form in front of him, shimmering and semitransparent, her clothes untouched by the fire, yet permanently stained red from some unknown source of her death.

They arrived at an intersection that was mercifully, less hot than the previous corridor. Ren gave a loud cough.

"Don't tell me you got lost again?" he said, watching her from the corner of his eyes. Her gold eyes were wide in panic, biting her lip as she looked back and forth between the two different corridors.

"It's much different going down the corridors than it is going through walls." Said shot back, more concern than fierceness in her voice. They were both panicking now, hoping to save Ren's life. "Come on, I think it's this way."

Ren really didn't want to bet his life on a 'I think it's this way,' but he didn't have a choice. The fire and smoke made everything so indistinguishable that he could hardly tell up from down, let alone remember where the fire exits were. His head was pounding.

Ren ran while the ghost floated in front of him, lighting his way in a distinct soft blue shimmer. After a minute, he spotted it. The exit!

Relief flooded through him. He tore open the door, the blessed stairwell in front of him. He was going to get out. He was going to live. He just had to make it down the stairs and-

There was a loud crack, then then building shuddered, moaning like a wounding animal. Ren stumbled backwards, watching in horror as the stairs in front of him began to collapse, an intense flame shooting up through the shaft.

"Shut the door!" Yelled the ghost. Ren didn't need to be told twice. He slammed it shut, burning his hands in the process.

Ren slumped back, sliding down the wall until he sat on the floor. He felt so weak. It hurt to breathe. Heck, everywhere hurt. The flames were so hot, all his sweat was dried form his body, his skin and throat dry as if he hadn't had water in weeks.

"Ren!" shouted that voice.

He opened his eyes, not realizing he had shut them. The ghost hovered in front of him, her face twisted in distress. Why did she look so upset? She should always be happy, smiling and laughing. It suited her face so much better…

"REN!"

He jerked from his daze, remembering where he was. Trapped in a burning building with no hope of escape.

"I found another way out." She said quickly. "You just have to get to that window. There are some men holding a tarp. You can jump. They'll catch-"

"I can't." he interrupted her. She gave him a strange look.

"Of course you can. They-"

"I can't." he repeated. He gave a large breath, then coughed hard, his whole body shaking. He gave her a weak smile, hoping to reassure her. "I don't have the energy to get up."

"What are you talking about?" he heard her say. She sounded close to tears. He couldn't be sure; his eye sight was getting blurry.

"Hey, Ren! Don't you dare die on me. Didn't you always say you were more stubborn than death itself? Prove it to me now… Ren…R-"

Ren closed his eyes, the darkness starting to take him.

I'm so sorry. He thought. I never found out how you died. I broke every promise I made with you. Please forgive me.

He slipped into the darkness, his consciousness fading.

...

...

A light pressure on his lips.

A surge of energy.

Ren sat up, nearly choking in his haste. His body was trembling, but not from weakness, it was a new surge of adrenaline.

It looked like he wasn't going die just yet.

Ren wobbled to his feet, knowing he didn't have much time. He had to get to the window before his strength failed him. Now where was the window she had indicated… there!

He stumbled toward it, ignoring the heat and pain in every step. He slammed his hands onto the sill, shoving it upwards. He didn't even look. He didn't even check to see if there was anyone below him. He just trusted in her word and threw himself from the window.

The air whipped around him, and somewhere in the process he lost all bearing. He felt something soft beneath him. Clambering, yelling, a rush of noise. Everything was so hazy. Then there was a pressure on his face.

As if a dark cloth had been removed from the sun, Ren's mind started working. He sat up, ignoring the startled cries from those around him. He was lying on a stretcher, an oxygen mask attached to his face. The burning death trap was across the street, firemen still attempting to put out the fifteen story high building. The place where he had once worked was completely enveloped in flame.

"You need to lie down sir." Said a medic beside him. "You inhaled a lot of smoke."

Ren groaned, a huge headache causing his head to spin. He laid back down for a moment, listening to the sounds around him; the roar of the fire, the cries of the people, the rushing of the wind.

Ren sat up again, this time ignoring the medic that was about to start treating him. He ripped the oxygen mask off his face, running towards an empty alleyway. People cried for him to stop, but he didn't listen. He kept running through ally after ally, eventually arriving at an empty park, the only sound the pounding of his feet and heart.

Where was his ghost? Why hadn't she been there when he woke up? For some reason, her absence made his heart more uneasy than usual. After haunting him for months, where was she now?

"Kyoko!" he yelled. "Kyoko! Please come out. Kyoko!"

"I'm here."

Ren jerked his head around. There she was, floating like usual in that white dress that flowed around her. Gone was the blood and pain, instead she looked just like she had the first time they'd met.

Pure as the snow.

Ren breathed out in relief, but his voice still shook. "There you are. Don't freak me out like that. I thought you were gone."

"Sorry about that." Said Kyoko. She was fidgeting, tapping a finger against her clutched hands. There was obviously something on her mind.

"What is it Kyoko?" said Ren.

Kyoko took a breath. "I need to tell you something. The truth is, I lied."

It took a moment for Ren to register what she said. When he did, he didn't understand.

"What do you mean you lied?" asked Ren. "What did you lie about?"

"About everything." Said Kyoko, looking at the ground. "I remember who I was. I remember how I died."

"Why didn't you tell me?" said Ren. "I can help you." It didn't make sense. They had been trying for months to remember who she was and how she had died. They had spent hours every day searching for any clues to her past. Why had she hidden it from him?

Kyoko shook her head. "I didn't want to remember who I was. You not knowing was what I needed. You saved me every day by being there for me, despite already being dead..."

Something wasn't right with this situation. Not only had she just revealed that she had been lying to him the whole time -which he honestly didn't care about in that moment- but it was the way she was talking. It sounded to Ren as if she was saying goodbye. As if she was going to leave. The thought immediately made his stomach clench.

"Kyoko, what-"

A soft shimmer rippled through Kyoko's form, becoming completely transparent for a moment. Ren's eyes widened in alarm. He'd never seen that before. She'd always been a little see through, and she tended to disappear sometimes, but it was always all at once. Not in a ripple as if the surface of water being disturbed.

Kyoko glanced at herself, lifting an arm to examine it. As she did so, the ripple happened again.

"Darn." she murmured. "I thought I might have at least a few more minutes."

Like pieces of paper being torn from a canvas, Kyoko's image began to disappear, each piece fluttering in the wind before vanishing.

"Kyoko!" cried Ren. "What's going on?"

"I gave it up." said Kyoko. She held out her hands, palms facing up as if silently offering something, a soft angelic smile on her face even as pieces of it started to disappear. "My life force, or at least what I had left. I couldn't let you die..."

Understanding came red hot to Ren. The soft pressure on his lips, the sudden surge in energy. It hadn't been a coincidence. She'd given away her energy to save him.

"No…"

Ren's eyes started to burn. Her imaged became distorted as tears began to fall. "Kyoko... please don't go." He couldn't lose her. Not now. Not after what she'd become to him.

"Sorry Ren." said Kyoko, giving his a weak, beautifully strained smile. "You'll have to make dinner without help from now on."

Ren reached forward, encircling his arms around her form. She breathed in sharply before leaning her head forward, resting it in his shoulder. He could almost feel her beneath him, almost imagine smelling her hair and feeling the warmth of her body. It made his heart ache, how close, yet how far away she had always been to him.

"I love you." he whispered.

He felt her draw back, a final breath brushing his cheek,

"Thank you."

Then she was gone, her form whisked away by the wind.

Thanks for reading!

Now don't hate me! This one I did plan on making a full story out of one day. I drew a picture for it and everything! (check out profile if you want to see it). Then I decided not to, but I'll eventually get around to writing the conclusion for this in another chapter.

-Blushweaver

(Note for The Prince's Concubine readers. I hurt my right thumb falling down the stairs about an hours ago and it still hurts. It's severely hampering my ability to type so if the next chapter is delayed that's why.)