"Kikumaru-kun," Rika said quietly. She could see he was unbelievably pale and he was panting. "Are you alright?"

Eiji looked up at Rika. She had avoided him for weeks now, eye contact making everything twice as awkward. But, as much as he hated the attention she gave him, he missed it; the caring 'are you okay?' and gentle 'take care' every time they spoke. He had grown attached to her.

"Rika chan," Eiji breathed. "That day at the park… what did I say?" He looked at the sky from the empty rooftop in thought.

Rika was stunned. "What-"

"I can't remember, as much as I try. I want to know what I did wrong," Eiji insisted. His hand slowly curved into fists. He had even been through everything with Yukimura numerous times over. He was determined to remember. Yukimura had been kind enough to try and help out.

Rika went quiet. "You told me you were scared. That you can't sleep at night and you don't want anyone to pity you."

"Then why did I yell, Rika-chan? I don't know what I did and I need to know."

Rika took a deep breath. She couldn't explain it in words again. It would be too much. Instead, she gently pressed her lips to his; actions spoke louder than any words she could say, but she would say them anyway. "I told you that I like you. You thought it was a pity and didn't want to be pitied. So you yelled at me that you hate me." Rika's eyes began to well up. But she refused to cry. She felt like she was a real cry baby.

Eiji went silent. "Rika-chan, I… I'm sorry. I don't hate you. But I don't want to hurt you anymore than I already have to. Any single day and I could die. I don't want to hurt you when I do."

Rika wiped her eyes. She was crying and she knew it. "Kikuma-"

"Eiji, Rika-chan, it's Eiji," he smiled, wiping tears from her cheeks.

"Eiji-kun, I want to be with you… even if you're going to die. Eiji-kun, I like you. That's it," she choked between sobs. "I know you're going through a hard time right now, but I love you and I want to help you."

Eiji pulled her close, hugging her tightly as tears began to escape his own eyes. "It's not fair on you, nya."

Rika chuckled as she returned his embrace. "Life's not fair, Eiji-kun," she replied.

Eiji wiped his eyes as his head rested on her shoulder. "Do you really want to be with me, even when I can't breathe without the help of a machine?"

"I do, Eiji-kun," Rika replied. "I really want to be by your side."

-Seven hundred and Twenty Four Paper Cranes-

"Eiji-senpai, I'm jealous," Momo chuckled. "You got yourself a girlfriend. She's kinda cute too."

That sparked attention through the tennis clubs. Someone had a girlfriend? That was unbelievable. Didn't girls still have germs? Okay, scrap that thought. They knew girls didn't have germs but no one really got a girlfriend. It just… didn't happen.

"That's great, Eiji! Congratulations," Oishi beamed at his doubles partner. "What's her name?"

Eiji smiled, holding his racket over his shoulders. "Thanks, nya. She's Kobayashi Rika from Fuji and my homeroom class."

Fuji wasn't sure how to react; betrayed, jealous or happy for his best friend. He had already warned Rika to stay away from Eiji but obviously had yet to learn her lesson.

"Echizen! Eiji senpai got a girlfriend," Momo smiled, draping his arm over the freshman's shoulders. "You're jealous too, aren't you?"

"Mada mada dane, Momo-senpai."

"Oi! That guy…" Momo cursed as Ryoma decided to go get out another racket. He wore the strings out quickly, these days. But training for the quarter finals was tough. It wasn't called Nationals for nothing.

Eiji smiled. "Hoi, hoi! Fuji, Fuji! Why're you looking down?" Eiji asked as he stood beside his best friend.

Fuji smiled in return. "Nothing. I'm just thinking about how tough the next matches will be," he lied. "Do you want to come over after you've seen Dr Kobayashi? The new math task looks hard."

"Su-" Eiji stopped. "How did you know I have to see Dr Kobayashi today?" Eiji's voice was quieter now.

Fuji looked at Eiji. "Shou and Yumiko have known each other forever. They tell each other everything and Yumiko isn't all that quiet when she's on the phone," he explained. "So I know everything."

Eiji wanted to punch his brother so hard his entire face would be purple for the next month. "Why didn't you tell me you knew?" he asked.

"Because you never asked and never told me, your best friend, anything. It was between you and Kobayashi-chan."

Eiji felt guilty. All the lies he had told; he regretted them but he couldn't tell anyone else the truth. Not anymore.

-Seven Hundred and Forty Two Paper Cranes-

Eiji sat on the end of Fuji's bed as he looked at the complicated math homework. He was so glad Fuji had thought of doing it together. He would have been stuck on this for hours if Fuji wasn't helping. What was it? Two minds are better than one? Well, it was true.

"Eiji, your kanji are really messy," Fuji commented. He pointed at one in particular. "Is that meant to be 'suu'?" (Suu means number and is the first character of mathematics)

Eiji smiled. "I know. It's so messy," he admitted with a laugh. "Nakayama-sensei complained just last week."

Fuji's face straightened. "Eiji."

"Hm?" Eiji asked with mild interest. He had the tip of his pen in his mouth while he tried to think through the math question.

"How long is it before you're meant to die?"

Eiji's smile disappeared. "By the end of this week, supposedly, I won't be able to write anymore or use chopsticks. I probably won't be able to hold tennis racket either."

Fuji's face was dull. "So you won't make it to Nationals?"

Eiji was very grim. "According to Dr Kobayashi, I'll be dead before then."

Fuji didn't like asking these types of questions. They were… depressing. He thought of something to lighten the mood. "Did Kobayashi-chan ask you or did you ask her?" he asked. He would be less annoyed at Rika if Eiji asked her.

Eiji grinned a little. "It sort of happened… I was asking her what I said that day at the park."

"You still can't remember?" Fuji asked. "Go on."

Eiji nodded. "She told me how I told her I was scared of dying – which I am – and being pitied because I'm sick. Then she told me she liked me and I yelled at her for liking me.

Fuji still needed to know. "Oh. I think I knew that already. Saa, what happened next?"

Eiji smiled. "I told her I didn't want to hurt anyone any more than I already have. That and I'm meant to die any day," Eiji said. "Then there was something else and eventually asked if she really wanted to be with me, even if I could die any moment. You can guess her answer, nya."

That did not help Fuji at all. Rika brought it up but Eiji asked. He was exactly where he started.

Eiji looked at Fuji. "Why don't you like Rika-chan, Fuji? She's done noth-"

"Because you were happy before she found out. Since she found out, you've changed. You don't talk to me much anymore. She's everywhere you go. I guess I'm jealous of how close you've become with her and how we've grown apart. I blame it all on her, it's just ea-"

Eiji grabbed Fuji's arm. "Fuji, you're my best friend. You know that right?"

"But you couldn't tell me," Fuji retorted. "You couldn't trust me in knowing my best friend is going to die."

"I'm sorry. I was too busy thinking of myself. I didn't want others to pity me and forgot about how lies hurt other people. I was being selfish again," Eiji apologised. "Now you know, I won't be afraid of talking to you in case I spill everything because you know now."

Fuji nodded. "Saa, best friends?"

"Even beyond the day I die!" Eiji replied as he usually did. The joke had become more literal now.

Fuji smiled as he looked back down at the homework. "Do you know the answer… "

-Seven Hundred and Sixty Nine Paper Cranes-

"Eiji… you're very lucky to have come this far," Dr Kobayashi commented. "We are baffled by your ability to stay alive."

Eiji nodded. "Thanks… I think."

Dr Kobayashi looked at his notes. "It's not medically possible… your body has deteriorated but in exchange, the functions of your brain have gotten better over the last few weeks. It wasn't obvious at the start of the month – it was about as stable as you were at the time – but it has definitely improved. Your emotion and memory are fairly stable now."

"This could mean he'll get better, like he did last time, right?" Shou asked. He attended every visit to the hospital.

Dr Kobayashi shrugged. "There is a possibility, but it's not certain. As I previously said: his body is still in a stage of deterioration. We cannot be too sure."

Eiji smiled. "Hoi, hoi! That means I can play the rest of Nationals, right?"

"It isn't our desired option, but if you take care of yourself, we cannot stop you," Dr Kobayashi replied. "We've been trying to stop you for a long time."

Eiji smiled as he jumped to his feet. "Nya, hoi!"

It was the first good news they had had in a long time.

-Eight Hundred and Five Paper Cranes-

"Where is he?" Oishi asked, looking for his doubles partner. Of course, it was the day of the final matches that both Eiji and Ryoma would run late on.

"Oishi-kun!" A female voice called, running up to Oishi.

"Ah, Rika-chan," Oishi smiled. "Have you seen Eiji?"

Rika smiled. "He's this way," she said. She looked out of breath. She began to run again, leading the way.

-Eight Hundred and Seventy Seven Paper Cranes-

Eiji sighed, pulling the oxygen mask away from his face. "So much for getting better," he said, hanging the mask on the tank of pressurised air. "I'll be leaving now."

"Be careful, Kikumaru-kun."

Eiji closed the door behind himself. "Eiji!" Rika's voice called as he began to walk around the stadium. He was running a little late but not too late. Registration still had twenty minutes.

"Ah, Rika-chan, Oishi," he said, rather surprised. Wasn't Rika going to get Fuji? It didn't matter.

"Eiji, where have you been?" Oishi almost exclaimed.

"Ah, sorry, nya! I got her really early so I took a look around. I lost track of time though," Eiji lied skilfully. "You ready to win the Nationals and become the best junior high doubles players in Japan, nya?"

-Eight Hundred and Ninety Eight Paper Cranes-

(A.N: This may feel like it jumps a bit, but there's the next chapter and an epilogue sort of chapter. As I mentioned earlier, it was originally a one shot so it's very choppy.

Please review!!)