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Rivera straightened out the robes she had made for the Sakura Festival. It barely qualified as a kimono... since she didn't have much reference to what one was supposed to really look like. There were so many options and variations she just googled them all and patched them together. However, some sites classified chinese robes as Kimonos and she was utterly MISLEADED. Usagihana had sent her a message that Kira was back, so she asked for the android to send him a message to drop by her dorm.

Setting the robes back into the closet, she locked the closet door after putting it in the very back. It would be a surprise. Rivera made some cookies'n'cream milkshake while she waited. It's been a while since she had sweets and Rivera had an UNSATIABLE sweet tooth. Not a lot of people knew that except for Usagihana... who can't be really classified as 'person'.

Rivera turned the blender off and practically jumped on Kira. "Ki-kun! I thought you got lost in another dimension for a while... were you suspended or something?" She detatched herself from the hug and smiled at him. Kira was the only person she could truly smile at without hurting. She turned around and poured the milkshake into two glasses. "Here, have one. The weather is unbearably hot... " She sipped her own glass happily. Massive craving for sweets--now satiated... partially.

"The sakura picnic is coming up. What foods do you like?" She asked him. "I'm making an obento."

Rivera laughed, a little too dryly. "Oh... I lost the fricken battle because my partner passed out before he really made any moves. I was counting on his extra power to take the creature out after I weakened it." She sighed. they hadn't taken off the bandages on her chest yet, so no tank tops or anything. She had to wear a light jacket or blouse all the time. Then there more bandages on her legs, which meant all jeans and long skirts. Not even capris. She hated confining clothing with a menace. The scar on her shoulder still throbbed whenever she got too close to another magical entity, like Kira and pretty much everybody else on the campus. But it was Kira, she didn't mind it at all if it was just Kira.

"I lost and fell into a coma from aural intoxication" She laughed sheepishly. "Stupid me... anyway, the judges were funny. I checked the rankings and apparently, I placed with the highest score in the test. Didn't think I'd get straight tens... thought I'd get a seven at best." She smiled again, only for 'Ki-kun' as he was called now.

Rivera shrugged slightly. "I wanted a change, that's all..." She replied in a light tone, hoping he won't notice anything was wrong. It was the first time she had seen him in a long time. She didn't want him to worry about her. The wounds would heal in time and just be part of her battlescarred body. There would be almost no difference looking at her and her wound-patterned skin. Trying to change the topic, she hastily took the blender pitcher. "Do you want some more milkshake?"

Rivera set the pitcher of milkshake down on the counter. Her eyes changed from the falsely contented emerald green to a dimmer, swampier shade. "There's nothing you can do. Every healer at the hospital already tried, including many of the healing students on campus. None of them could do anything for me because I was a chaotic entity." Her smiling mask was no longer on anymore. There was only regret and longing on her face, a longing for something she used to take for granted.

"They went to the last resort and performed surgery, and set me on artificial life support for a long time. It's a miracle I'm still alive, since no one really thought I'd make it through the first hour of operation" She murmured, turning on the sink faucet to rinse her empty glass. If she were any ordinary person, one might see that she was close to tears. The only difference was that Rivera didn't cry. She didn't like to and she didn't want to. There were only two times she had every remembered crying. One was alone, suffering in the depths of an insane asylum. The other was with Kira. Only Kira would know her emotions to their fullest.

"They ...already suggested... that I go through one more operation... to try and fix my heart and part of the left lung..." She looked away from him deliberately, cleaning her glass even more thoroughly now to have an excuse to not meet him eye to eye. But even after a while, there was nothing more to be done to the glass. She dried it and set it into a cupboard above the sink.

"If it works... then I will be back to normal..." Rivera seemed relaxed, but with her backed turned, Kira wouldn't see her hands shaking, as they were folded in front of her. She tried to make her voice sound like she didn't care so much. Unfortunately, Rivera's acting was not exactly the best. "but if it doesn't... I might not be able to continue fighting... ever..." She looks down at the ground, trying to seem like she was interested in the lay of the tiles.

"Fighting's been my life... but I suppose... I should probably get a new life..." She painfully forced out a smile. This was a lie and she knew it. Fighting would be something she would never be willing to give up.

Rivera smiled and leaned back against Kira. His warmth was so comforting... "Thank you, Kira... but there are somethings that you just can't help me with. I'll be going into operation tomorrow. It should be done overnight, so I should be able to recover in time for the Sakura picnic. Assuming that I make it through the night alive."

"Say, what do you want in the obento for the picnic?" Rivera tried to change the subject again. "I'm not exactly a really good cook... but Usagihana can help me with it! And if all fails, I'll stop by the cafe and buy one."

At the same time, Usagihana dashed into the room. She formerly round, eggshaped android had been in a fox-like rabbit form since the crimson decadia. "Rivera, urgent message!" Bounding onto the counter, the android's tail was swishing so fast it formed sparks hitting the steel counter.

"What is it?" Rivera suddenly turned her head. Something told her that she already knew what the problem was. It had been partially expected... but she wasn't entirely sure.

"They've moved up your operation date to today. Do you think you can handle two of them in half a month?" Usagihana suddenly began reading her life support, "You're not even 65% recovered yet. This might be dangerous... do you want to go through with it?" Rivera was silent for a long moment. Her eyes flickered between blue and green, ever shifting, growing darker, then lighter and back.

"Fine. It's my last shot, isn't it?" Looking at her watch, she calculated the time. "It's about 3 o'clock now... I suppose I want to head over there now if I want to get any sleep tonight."

Rivera bit her lip. Survive the operation? Usagihana had already calculated her survival rate and it was below the half line... about 39.3 percent only, little better than 1/3, a little worse than 2/5. She knew very well that it would take at least the average miracle to keep her alive. It might be a promise that she can't keep...

"I... yes... I promise." She whispered. Her hand found the pearl and silver chain at her neck. Kira had given this to her for her birthday. It was her one of her mose precious possesions. Turning to Usagihana, Rivera asked, "Usagi, do I have enough energy to use the teleport circle?"

Usagihana's ears stood up straight again, taking in the wave signals. "It's possible, but not recommended. You need all your energy to sustain your chance of survival."

"Alright. Then we'll walk." She turned the knob on the door of her dorm. Her hand was shaking slightly. Rivera wasn't sure if she could do this... it was her last chance, but it may very well be her death.