"Hello?" Hikaru said into the receiver.

"Guess who!" Haruhi said enthusiastically.

"Hey," Hikaru said, glad to hear her voice. "How are you?"

"I'm better now. Wow, did I have a rough day!"

"What happened?" Hikaru was concerned at the strange hint of hysteria in her voice.

"Well, I got kicked out of my history class, hit on by my lab partner, and I fell down the steps which seem to have led to a broken leg. But, enough about me; how are you?"

"Wow, a broken leg, huh? That sucks. Nothing much is new with me."

"Aw, come on, you must have at least a little something to tell me. Any girls?" her voice sounded a little bitter.

"Well, of course there are girls Haruhi, it's a unisex school."

"Any you're interested in?"

"No. Everyone is either a snobby wannabe or a model. And on top of that none of them are you."

All bitterness dropped from her voice at this comment. "Good to hear. At least something is going right in my life."

"I miss you," Hikaru blurted out.

"I miss you too…"

"I know. But just think, only a little while, and we'll both be out of college and then we can get married."

"Hikaru, we both have close to two and a half years left…"

"I know, but it's still sooner then what it was when we started."

She laughed, "True."

"Maybe we could find a way to see each other again before that…"

Haruhi sighed in exasperation, "You know that's impossible. It's pointless for me to come visit you, because we have different break schedules and I'll have to go home after a few days. Plus I'm taking another semester's worth of classes over the summer so I can get done with school sooner."

"I know… it was just a joke."

"Well it wasn't funny!" her voice was stressed again. "I have to go. Write me a letter soon to tell me how you're really doing."

"I love you," he said into the phone; but he knew it was too late. She had already hung up.

Hikaru remembered this day well. It was just the beginning of a series of short phone calls that always ended with Haruhi hanging up before the conversation was over. He had written too her after that. She always responded to his letters.

He looked out the window and watched the prettily painted houses pass by. What a nice neighborhood. He thought. She must be doing well.

Of course she's not doing well. She has brain cancer you idiot. He shook his head mentally. Why did he keep thinking these things?

The limo pulled up in front of a white house. It was the plainest on the block. Of course, Hikaru thought, only she would want a boring white house. He got out. It took all his strength to walk up the steps to the porch. He decided to wait until he gathered up some more strength to knock on the door. Finally, he got up enough courage.

"Knock, knock!" Hikaru yelled as a sleepy looking Haruhi opened the door.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Uh, like, 1? Why? "

"Because that's in Japan, and this is America. Time difference. It's like actually like, 3… IN THE MORNING!"

"I'm sorry; it's been a while since I've traveled here…"

"I could kill you! I should kill you! I've told you about a half a million times that we shouldn't visit each other; especially if it's a surprise!"

"I'm sorry it's just… well, I felt bad for snapping at you on the phone the last time we talked." Their last phone conversation had ended in absolute disaster. There had been crying and discussions about maybe not talking until after college was over. "I needed to apologize, and I felt that doing it over the phone might not be the best idea, so… here I am!" he said throwing open his arms to emphasize the fact that he was indeed there.

"And you thought this was the best idea?" Haruhi said with an exasperated sigh.

"Uh… well, yeah." Hikaru shrugged. "Guess I was wrong." He turned to leave.

Haruhi smiled. "You're too cute to stay mad at. So, I forgive you. But promise to never do this again."

"Cross my heart." Hikaru said, while crossing his heart.

"You're the devil," Haruhi told him, as she threw herself into his arms.

"I know," Hikaru whispered.

Hikaru knocked again. "Hello?" he called. No one answered.

"Hello!" he yelled. Still, no one responded.

"She's in the hospital," a frail voice from behind him said. He turned around to find an old woman standing there.

"Thank you. I'm Hitachiin Hikaru, and you are?"

"That's not important. What's important is that she's almost gone."

"How much longer does she have?"

"Not much, I would expect."

"Which hospital?"

"Don't worry yourself with names. I'll tell you how to get there. Go straight, turn left at the stop sign, go straight again, turn right onto the highway, get off on exit 55 and then turn at the first left turn offered to you. Good luck boy." She gave him a half toothless smile and winked. Then she turned to walk away.

"Wait! How do you know this?"

"That's not important. Go to her!" the woman never turned around, she just waved her can as a gesture for him to leave. He ran back to the limo and told the driver the directions. They were there in ten minutes.

He ran to the information desk. "Can you tell me what floor I could find a cancer patient?"

"What's your name, sir?" the receptionist asked.

"Hitachiin Hikaru." Her eyes widened though they remained focused on the sign in sheet.

"Name of the ill?"

"Fujioka Haruhi."

"Family or friend?"

"Both, I suppose."

She looked up at him. "You're either family or friend."

"I'm friend."

"Then you can't go. She's in a coma and they are only letting family visit her."

"Look," Hikaru began, "she and I were engaged for nearly five years. If that doesn't qualify me as family, I don't know what does."

"Well, DNA for one thing," the nurse began.

"You're not gonna let me up there, are you?"

"No."

"Fine," Hikaru said turning and walking out the door.

OoOoO

Ooooooooooooooh! I wonder what's gonna happen next. Actually, it's pretty obvious. Anyway, review and I will love you forever!