Authors Note: I know a lot of you are worried about what will happen to this story in regards to if Sayaka or Homura make a contract. So I want to address that now and alleviate your worries.

No, there will be no repeat of Homura's wish to save Madoka with 'to save Sayaka' instead. Homura wont turn into Time Traveling Rambo, and Sayaka will not turn into a witch in this. I don't want to (And have no intentions to) have the story end up repeating what happened in the show, only with Sayaka instead of Madoka. We will not have Oktavia, and Homura won't become Bill Murray/Phil from Groundhogs Day.

IF any of that happens, it will be in an ALTERNATE ending sort of things. But to put it short, Sayaka wont turn into a witch, and Homura wont gain her time magic.

Now that that is out of the way. I just want to say how surprised I am by how many follows and reviews this story has gotten. It does mean a lot knowing so many people enjoy this, and also does a lot to keep me motivated in writing new chapters. I probably would have abandoned this back in chapter five if I hadn't known so many people enjoy it. So thank you everyone who's been reading this.

The first week was coming to a close, and Homura hadn't woken up.

Doctors had explained that there was no way to tell when she would wake up, they explained that there was a possibility she might not wake up at all. But Sayaka did her best not to think about that part.

Eventually, the doctors had to hook Homura up to even more machines to try and prolong her life until they could get a donor, without them her heart wouldn't be able to keep beating. It was a temporary solution that'd only work for a short while.

Classmates and teachers alike came and went, wanting to see how she was, dropping off gifts and wishing for her to recover, or at the very least, wake from her coma. Everyone was worried for the shy but kindhearted girl they had come to love having class with. She never responded, she never stirred. It was as though she were already dead.

Sayaka was there as often as she could be, skipping classes even to be by Homura's side or waiting by the receptions desk for the doctors to let her go in. If Homura knew about missing school on her behalf, Sayaka knew she would get an earful from her, and she looked forward to it. She had even begun getting bags under her eyes, going several nights with hardly any sleep between her worries and spending time waiting for Homura to wake up. Her parents were getting worried for her, but they tried to stay quiet best they could.

Sayaka spent every single moment she could with Homura, talking to her as though the girl could actually hear her and pausing as though listening to a response. Usually Sayaka would just recap things Homura missed at school, what the weather was like outside, or some idea Sayaka thought of that she thought was particularly funny. She talked about anything really.

But the silence she received was like a stab in the heart.

"You should have seen it, that bully...remember the one from the locker rooms, who threw your glasses? She was opening her pop and it sprayed all over it, she had such a fit over it," Sayaka said, laughing at the memory of the incident, "Got so much all over her she had to go home and change clothes. She wasn't happy at all, but she deserved it."

She sat there by the bed, grinning down at Homura's slumbering face, waiting for a chuckle or some kind of remark, but the only noise was from the beeping of the machines. Those damned machines.

Her shoulders sagged in defeat as they always did when Homura remained asleep. There was little she could do for Homura, and it sucked. So she began idly toying with the long black hair, passing the time in silence as she thought of something else to tell her, or waited for the doctors to kick her out so they could check up on Homura. Maybe her worried mother would drag her out again when it got to late, though she didn't do it that often.

Instead, Sayaka just drifted off to sleep of her own, hoping that when Homura opened her eyes she'd see her and not see Madoka and Mami.

The first week passed by in silence. Halfway through the second week, Homura woke up.

"Say...aka?" Homura whispered, her voice so soft, so weak from lack of use. It would have been easy to not have heard her at all.

But Sayaka jerked to attention, eyes staring at her with alarm and relief, "Homura...Oh God, Homura you're awake!" She wanted to hug her, but knew that it wouldn't have been a good move, so she settled with taking Homura's hand in her own. Hoping it could convey all the emotions she was feeling right now.

Homura gave a weak smile, "What...what happened?" she asked, a fair question. She must not have remembered having the heart attack.

There was a hesitation. Should Sayaka explain to her the situation, she didn't want the knowledge to put strain on her heart, it was barely functioning at all after all. But, she couldn't bring herself to lie to Homura.

"Homura...you're...you're surgery didn't go so well," she said, trying to explain it as gently as she could, her thumb running circles over Homura's knuckles. Her hands felt so much more frail then before, they felt like they could break without effort. "You're hearts it's..."

Homura, clever and smart Homura caught on quickly. A strange look entered her eyes, "Oh," she mumbled, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"No!" Sayaka shouted, and though she hadn't meant to say it that loudly or that harshly or intended to make Homura flinch, she couldn't help it, "You're not going to die, don't say that!" Don't say it, don't let it become a reality. Please, don't, please!

But Homura gave her a bitter smile, "Don't get mad...this was bound to happen..."

Seeing her so ready to give in, already accepting a demise that hadn't happened yet. More pieces to Sayaka's already breaking heart were shattered, and she felt tears begin to form and run down her cheeks. Was she always this much of a crybaby?

Homura just gave her hand a gentle squeeze, eyes begging to droop.

"It's strange...I've just woken up...and I want to be awake and with you..." she mumbled, bringing her eyes to a gentle close, "But I'm tried...so...tired..." Her words grew softer and more slurred as she drifted off to sleep once more, leaving Sayaka in a silence only broken that the beeping of the monitors.

Beep...Beep...Beep

While she had begun waking up more after that, she still slept most of the time. Homura never stayed awake for more than an hour before exhaustion sent her back to slumberland. If it had been just that, Sayaka would have considered it good news, but it wasn't. Homura's condition was slowly worsening with no news on how to stop it. She also delirious more often then not when awake. Often not even aware of where she was or what had happened to her, thinking her to be somewhere else.

Sayaka wished she could be in whatever world Homura thought they were in during those times. It seemed like a much happier place.

She had stopped going to school altogether, all but moved into Homura's hospital room. Hitomi and Kyosuke would collect schoolwork for her so she wouldn't fall behind when she came back, not that she ever completed those assignments or read the notes. They sat on her desk untouched, collecting dust. She would work on them with Homura when Homura was discharged from this horrible place.

Assuring herself that Homura would get better and would leave the hospital was the only thing keeping Sayaka going at this point. She had done all she could to keep from thinking of the more grim likelihood of it's end. But the thoughts still snuck their way into her head. It was turning Sayaka into a nervous wreck, and when she wasn't with Homura, her anxiety went through the roof.

Sayaka had spent the night again at Homura's side, and it was probably noon if her stomach was anything to go by. She was holding Homura's hand as she always did, watching the girl sleep and waiting for her to wake up, wondering if she would be comprehensible or delirious this time when a doctor came in with two adults in tow.

A woman and a man, both dressed up in suits with expensive phones out. The woman was yelling something on hers while the man texted furiously. The doctor had the most annoyed look on his face and Sayaka could only assume these were the types of visitors he hated the most. She herself was wondering who they were and what they were doing here until it dawned on her. The woman's hair, the mans nose and eyes.

They were the same as Homura's.

"Unbelievable," she had whispered quietly, watching the two with a hawk like gaze. It was almost a half a month now since Homura was admitted, and they were only now visiting?

The doctor, Wakahisa as Sayaka had come to know, cleared his throat to get the parents attention before speaking, "As I explained over the phone...in the multiple times to try and bring you here, she will need your-" he began but was cut off by Homura's mother.

"Quiet!" she hissed at him before returning to the phone, "No, I said I want it done by the time I return to the office! I don't care what you say, you will get that paperwork done! Well maybe if you'd stop complaining you could get it done in an hour!" She snapped at someone who Sayaka assumed was an employee of hers. She continued to bark orders and practically degrade the poor person on the other end before finally turning to Homura and Sayaka after hanging up.

"Wow, you didn't say she looked this bad, she's already half dead by the looks of it," she said after looking Homura up and down, clicking her tongue before turning to the doctor, "How long does she got, and how are you even keeping her alive?"

He looked about as annoyed as Sayaka was right now, couldn't the woman at least pretend to be concerned? "Through medical technology," he answered, rolling his eyes at the father who was typing away at his own phone and not listening.

"Who's the kid?" He asked, glancing up before returning to his phone, probably referring to Sayaka. Who narrowed her eyes at him at being called 'kid'.

Before Wakahisa could answer, he was probably stretching his patience thin with the interruptions at this point, Sayaka spoke, narrowing her eyes at them, "Homura's friend; Miki Sayaka. The one who's been here for her while you guys weren't," venom dripped from her words. She wasn't going to pretend to be nice to them. They didn't deserve politeness. She hadn't had the best opinion of Homura's parents after learning they hadn't even been in the country when Homura was in the hospital the previous time. But their attitudes here, like Homura was the last of their concerns?

Sayaka hated them.

"Friend? I'll be honest, I'm shocked, I didn't think the girl was even capable of human interactions," Aiko Akemi chuckled at her own joke, and Sayaka clenched her teeth. "I'd suggest you go on and save yourself the trouble of sticking around. Homura's probably not going to be around for much longer, so it's best you move on with your own life."

She didn't even look upset over saying that Homura might die.

They must have been the reason for Homura's terrible self esteem, her submissive nature. They should save themselves the trouble of getting a beating by shutting up before things got real nasty. Sayaka didn't know how much longer until she'd end up attacking them.

A squeeze on her hand was what held her back.

"Anyways," Wakahisa said, clearing his throat and scanning the room as though waiting to see who'd interrupt him next, "We will need you two to sign some papers before we can even begin the process of getting a donor, she is a minor after all and needs your permission. I would have preferred if you guys had come sooner to be honest."

"We had only been back in Japan for a few days before you had called us. Do you know how much work we had to attend to? Far to much to push aside for a simple trip to Mitakihara," Koji Akemi said, waving the doctor off, still focusing on his phone. "Besides, waste more money on a surgery? You said so yourself, she's not going to live long enough to get it."

"I said there was a high chance she wouldn't, thats different."

Sayaka's teeth were grinding now. She could have forgiven their lateness in coming if they had still been out of the country, but no, Homura's father had just confirmed they had been in Japan the entire time. What bullshit work was more important then their dying daughter?! Who gave them the right to be parents? Why did they bother paying for Homura's medical expenses at all if they cared so little for her?

The grip on her hand tightened almost in warning, but Sayaka ignored it.

"Get out," she hissed, standing up, her hand still holding Homura's. She had heard enough from them, seen enough of them. "You don't belong here, you're not wanted here! You obviously don't give a shit about Homura, so just get the fuck out of here now before I make you leave!"

They probably didn't believe she could hold true to her threat, underestimating Sayaka was a terrible thing to do. Wakahisa knew well enough from their first encounter that she would lash out when Homura was involved, but the parents didn't know that. But they at least shrugged and left, muttering about having more important things to do than waste time here. Wakahisa gave Sayaka a sympathetic and thankful look, had she not had her outburst, he would have snapped at them instead.

They truly weren't deserving of being called parents.

Sayaka took a deep breath as the door slid shut and she could no longer hear the two older Akemi's talking. Sinking back onto her chair, her eyes fell on Homura.

"How long had you been awake?" she asked, fingers interlacing with Homura's. Her heart tightened as Homura opened her eyes, the tears she'd been holding back falling down her pale and gaunt face, "Are they...are they always like that?"

Homura just nodded silently, a thin, shaking arm rubbing at her face to try and get the tears away as tubes and wires bumped against each other, "Yeah...s-sorry you had to...had to meet them," she mumbled, looking away from Sayaka in shame. She'd probably had never wanted Sayaka to meet her parents at all, and least of all meet them in this sort of situation.

But Sayaka just gave Homuras hand a light squeeze in her own, "Well, so what if they're like that. They don't deserve you is all," she said trying to comfort Homura. Hearing all of what they had said probably had not done well for her. It had most certainly not done any good for her. It was clear they wouldn't have cared if she was dead, and no kid deserved that kind of parent. Sayaka was glad Homura didn't have to live with them.

Though Homura appreciated her words, it did little to brighten her mood, "They're not going to sign, you know," she said, referring the papers that would allow Homura to have the transplant. "You heard my dad, it'd be a waste of money. They don't like wasting money."

"Wakahisa-san will get them to sign, don't worry," Sayaka assured her, brushing some hair from Homura's face, "He may seem like an ass who doesn't want to be here, but he does want you to survive."

"He said so himself there was a little chance."

Sayaka swallowed, Homura right on that. The very first day Wakahisa had said not to expect Homura to live long enough to get a transplant. They still didn't know how long they'd have to wait to get a donor, let alone do a surgery. He was right, there wasn't a good chance that Homura would make it that long. She couldn't bring herself to find an argument this time.

"Sayaka...I'm...I..." Homura began, but fell silent, looking out the window instead of at Sayaka, unable to bring herself to finish what she was about to say. Both girls fell into a bitter, familiar silence as Sayaka kept their hands intertwined. Occasionally she would reach over to play with Homura's hair, or mumble some comment or another.

Homura was asleep again before long.

A few more days passed, and Sayaka had been right; Wakahisa had managed to convince Aiko and Koji to sign the papers. Now all they had to do was get a heart. But Homura's condition had begun to take a serious turn for the worse after that. She'd suffered a few small heart attacks, and it was a rare sight for her not to be delirious and hallucinating when awake.

Doctors said it was better she think she was somewhere else, somewhere better. Sayaka agreed, but it didn't mean she liked seeing her friend in this state even if she sometimes snapped out of it. But it wasn't often.

Every time she came into the room, if felt like a part of herself had died. Seeing Homura who looked closer and closer to death every time she came, it was too much for Sayaka to handle, but she would bare the pain. She had to give Homura hope. Couldn't let Homura see her an emotional wreck, not here, not now.

She'd taken to running to a waiting wing in the back that was generally void of patients and doctors to cry and lash out.

It was perhaps the sixth day since Homura started getting worse, Sayaka had been dragged off by her mother that morning to come home. She needed to change clothes, take a shower and eat real food Chiyo had said, seeing as Sayaka was in need of all three.

So now, clean, with fresh clothes and a full stomach, she was on her way back to Homura's room, bracing herself for whatever condition Homura may be in now.

"Homura?" she asked, pushing the door open and stepping in. The girl opened her eyes and looked up at Sayaka, those eyes once a vibrant violet color full of life, now a dull purple. Her skin had taken on a blueish hue. Sayaka had to hide her pain as she stepped in and took her seat next to the bed, "How're you feeling?"

Homura smiled at the sight of Sayaka, "Kind of warm, actually. It's a really nice day out, so warm, so bright," She answered, her voice so quiet and hoarse, and she looked out the window as she said this. Sayaka didn't bother to follow her gaze. It was cloudy and raining outside, the beginnings of a storm.

"It sure is," Sayaka answered, a forced smile in place as she played along, "We should go out to get some ice cream later, though on a day like this the lines will be pretty long."

Her friend giggled, bringing a hand to her mouth and shifting so she could look at the ceiling. Sayaka wondered where Homura thought she was; at her apartment, Sayaka's room, or maybe outside. She knew it wasn't a sterile hospital.

"I'm thinking," Homura began looking back at Sayaka, "Of getting a dog, or maybe a cat."

Sayaka was used to her bringing up things like these, it wasn't the first time Homura said this, she had said the same thing yesterday. But Sayaka pretended to be surprised by the idea anyways, "Eh? Why?"

"Well, it's kind of lonely in my apartment all by myself, a little friend would be nice to have," Homura explained and smiled wide, "I went by the pet store yesterday, and there were so many cute little guys there that I just wanted to take them all home with me!"

"Is that so?" Sayaka gave a smile, thinking of Homura covered in kittens and puppies. It was an adorable image, "You'll have to take me with you next time to meet them."

Homura grinned, mumbling something about how Sayaka would love them when she met them, and whether a cat would be better or a dog. Sayaka suggested jokingly that she ought to get both, that way they had a playmate when she was at school.

It wasn't long until her line of thinking was changed once again, thoughts of cats and dogs gone as she was off talking about something else. Suggesting that she should go and make some tea for Sayaka since she was a guest after all. Sayaka assured her it was fine and to not get up, and somehow managed to convince Homura to stay in bed.

She could see Homura we getting more tired, there were delays in her replies, her eyes would close for longer and longer periods. Before long she would be sleeping and Sayaka would be left in silence until she awoke again.

"Hey...Sayaka..." Homura mumbled eyes still closed, "Can I...can I ask you something?"

"Sure, you can ask me anything," Sayaka answered, watching Homura carefully. Sometimes she fell asleep before she was finished talking, and Sayaka wondered if this would be the case too. But it wasn't.

Homura seemed to hesitate, gathering her courage before speaking, "Can you... could you...you know, kiss me?"

If Sayaka had been drinking anything, she would have done a spit take at the request, and stared at Homura with wide shocked eyes."K-Kiss you?" Sure she had said weird things in her state, but this was the strangest and most 'out there' thing Homura had said.

Homura's own had opened up and were peering at her shyly, "I'm sorry, I know... it's a strange request," she said, looking away, a pink color dusting her cheeks and coloring the blue ever so slightly, "But...well I've never...I've never kissed anyone before...and I'm curious of what it's like. I don't...I don't want to die without having kissed anyone."

She wasn't sure if Homura was delirious at this point or not, but it was like another stab to Sayaka's heart as she saw how upset Homura was over this. She guessed she should feel honored that Homura wanted her first kiss to be with her, but really, she couldn't feel anything but pain here.

"Alright..." Sayaka said, and Homura perked up as though not hearing her right, "I'll...I'll kiss you." She'd do anything that could help Homura, even if it was something like a kiss.

Homura mumbled a thank you and Sayaka leaned down towards her.

There were some reservations, Sayaka didn't feel quite right kissing her here and now. Would it count as taking advantage of? No, it wouldn't, it's just a kiss and Homura asked her for it. It was the least she could do after all.

Just like in fairy tales, Sayaka told herself, a prince or knight come to save a fair maiden. Homura was her maiden, her princess and Sayaka was the prince.

She'd never kissed anyone either, so her movements were a little clumsy. But her lips soon found a softer and colder set and both closed their eyes. It was strange, kissing another person, kissing another girl for that matter. Neither were sure how long it was supposed to last, but after a few seconds, Sayaka pulled away, and stared at Homura with a bright blush on her face.

Homura's eyes were wide and a faint blush colored her cheeks once again. A hand came up to press fingertips against her lips before she quickly looked away in embarrassment. "Was that...did I...do okay?" she asked shyly.

Nodding, Sayaka fought to find her voice, "Y-yeah...you're a natural kisser, Homura!" Sayaka exclaimed, still flustered. Was it just her or was it getting kind of hot in here?

"Sayaka, I...I think I'm...i-in-"

She was so quiet that Sayaka hadn't actually heard, and as a result never got to finish. "Hey, I'm going to be right back," Sayaka said, face still red as a tomato, "Uh...er nature calls and all that," she lied, she just needed to get out of there fast and get some air. Homura had barely enough time to say OK before Sayaka was out of there.

"...in love with you..." Homura finished though Sayaka wasn't in the room anymore. She closed her eyes, feeling her energy vanish at once and her body grow sleepy once more.

The room fell silent after that, the only sound the machine's constant beep.

Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

Sayaka quickly splashed some more of the cold tap water onto her burning face before looking up at the mirror. The blush was still there, but not as prominent as before. It had probably been almost thirty minutes now that she's been in the bathroom, trying to collect herself and calm down.

"Okay, Sayaka, okay. Just calm down, it was just a kiss. All you did was just kiss your best friend," she told herself, staring at her reflection, "It was nothing, just a harmless, meaningless kiss...that you sort of actually liked."

At that, she groaned, bringing her hands up to her face.

"No, no, no! It's okay if I liked it, it still doesn't mean anything," she said, trying to assure herself. Her heart felt like it was racing a mile a minute within her chest, and a hand came to rest over it as though it would make it slow down.

"I just kissed Homura Akemi," Sayaka said still looking at her reflection, "My best friend, Homura Akemi...God damn it, this is all Hitomi's fault!" she growled. No, if Hitomi hadn't mentioned anything about the two, then Sayaka wouldn't be thinking about things like this. She wouldn't be making it a bigger deal than it was!

"She just wanted to get her first kiss out of the way, that's all, it means nothing! She didn't mean anything behind it, and neither did I!"

After spending a few more minutes in front of the mirror, trying to tell herself that it was okay and just a meaningless kiss, Sayaka finally built the courage to go back to the room and face Homura. Hopefully Homura would be asleep and not remember the kiss.

The halls were a bit more full of excitement on the return trip, and Sayaka was mildly curious of what had all the doctors in such a rush.

However, Wakahisa stopped Sayaka when she was about to turn the corner to reach Homura's room.

"Hey, what's going on?" Sayaka asked annoyed, but when she looked up to see the expression on the doctors face, Sayaka felt color drain from her face and pushed him aside to turn the corner anyways.

There were doctors rushing to and from Homura's room, yelling at each other to grab things or do something.

"No," Sayaka said, shaking her head, and looked back at Wakahisa, "Please, please tell me she's not..."

He shook his head sadly, "Her heart flatlined, we're...we're sending her to ER, but there isn't much we can do."

Sayaka stood there with wide eyes as she watched some doctors push Homura out of the room on a gurney. She could feel the very instant that she felt her heart shatter as she turned and ran the other way. The doctor didn't even try to stop her as she nearly knocked over others in her run.

She eventually found herself in the empty wing.

"I...All because I left her alone..." she whispered, drawing her knees close to her as she gripped her hair. Tears began to fall and choked sobs echoed through the empty room, "Damn! Damn it all! I should have stayed in there with her! I shouldn't have run out like a fucking idiot! All because I was embarrassed!" Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Why was it always like this? She grows close to someone, and something happens! Madoka died, and now Homura was going to die too. Was she cursed? Was she cursed to cause everyone she loves to die?

"I don't...I don't want her to die!" she screamed, nails digging into her scalp. She didn't want Homura to die, she wanted her to live. She wanted to be able to grow up beside her, stay at her side for as long as she could. They couldn't have her, Death couldn't have Homura, she was too good, to pure for him! "I...I need her! I can't lose her, I can't lose her from my life too!"

All she could see though in her mind was Homura, frail and weak with such deathly pale skin lying near dead in the hospital room.

I can't lose you, please, God, if you're listening, please don't take her away! I need her...I...I love her, please!

She didn't care if it was God or the Devil who heard her plea and she didn't care who came to answer it if any came. She just wanted Homura to live. She wanted to be able to relieve Homura of all that pain she had felt, be able to make her feel better. She wanted to save Homura.

"I can help you to save Akemi Homura's life."

Sayaka jerked, head snapping up from where it had been buried between her knees. She looked down the row of seats she was on to the end where the speaker sat. Though the light was dimmer on that side of the room, it wasn't to hard to make out the shape.

"You...you can?" she asked, her voice a whisper full of disbelief and hope.

Red eyes gleamed in the darkness, "Of course! A simple task really," it answered before stepping out of the shadows and walking over the seats to her, "All you have to do is make a wish."

Authors Note: Did I make Homura's parents despicable enough? I was going for 'worse type of person' when writing them. Also, when Sayaka said 'I love her', it isn't necessarily a romantic love. It could be, but Sayaka didn't actually mean it in a romantic sense.