Homura breathed onto her hands, rubbing them together to keep them warm. The cold October wind rustled through the boughs above her. Homura's heart thudded in her chest, rampant with nervousness.

Will she show up? Did she get the note? Maybe she just thinks I'm lame, not worth her time…

Homura paced, leaves crunching underfoot. She had put the note right into the book. There was no way she wouldn't see it. Right? She stopped for a second, trying to literally shake herself out of her nervousness, like throwing off a jacket. A soft crunch met her ear.

"H-Homura?" A voice said softly. Lovingly?

The raven-haired girl turned, although she already knew who it was.

"Kyoko." The words emptied from Homura's lips as though she was three-quarters sure the girl standing before her was a mirage, no more real than an anime character.

The wind sent red, rust, gold, and brown sailing through the air like kids in balerina class, not quite sure what to do, spinning, twirling, kicking simply to do something.

"I got your note," Kyoko said, a small smile splitting her face as she held up a crumpled piece of paper, purple pen strokes noticeable even from a distance. The smile that crossed the redhead's face was the honest, loving kind. The small turning up of the corners of one's mouth that takes so little effort but means so much. "So…" Kyoko's voice trailed off.

Homura hugged her arm like it was broken. Her heart beat heavy, using the skin of Homura's back as a slingshot to smash its way through her ribs and claim Kyoko for itself.

"I-I was wondering," Kyoko began, scratching the back of her head.

Thump thump.

"If you, uh, maybe…"

Thump thump thump.

"I dunno, maybe, uh…"

Thump.

Homura's chest hurt. Her heart was beating… wrong. No, this is normal. This- this is just how I feel about Kyoko. Nothing bad.

"Ah, shit. Just, maybe go to the arcade together? Get a pizza after?"

Thump. Thump. Thump thump th-

Homura's vocal cords burned. Her legs felt weak. Nothing was working.

-ump.

Nothing? Homura collapsed onto all fours. She reached to her throat, trying to massage away the pain.

Thump.

What was wrong. Kyoko was yelling. She could feel the redhead's hand on her back. It hurt. Everything hurt.

Th-

So much. It hurt so much.

-ump.

Homura collapsed to the ground, leaves crunching beneath her. She felt dizy.

Th-

And then nothing. Her heart stopped. Her vision went black. Kyoko's cries for help filled her ears before…

Nothing.

The oddly loud opening of the large white door to Homura's room rustled her out of a book. Light streamed in through the open window, smelling more like June than March. Homura's doctor, wearing a white coat and an oversized smile, stepped in through the door.

"Smell that?" He inquired, "Smells beautiful, doesn't it?"

Homura smiled slightly, placing a small slip of paper between the pages of her book.

"Welp," The doctor groaned as he sets himself into a chair. He has an unusual way of sitting, preferring the back of the chair to rest against his chest. "You'll be out of here in a couple weeks, and in just a few days after that, school'll be starting again." He smiled, likely remembering the good old days when he practiced on plastic hearts, not working on real ones, a millimeter with the scalpel and a life ended. "I know it might be tempting to want to go back to public schools, but your parents and I would like you to consider this."

The doctor held out his hand, a small pamphlet in it. Homura took it, flipping through the pages, looking at the pictures, glancing over the blurbs.

"Yamaku," he said, reciting the name written in large letters on the front of the pamphlet, thereafter repeated at least twice on every leaf. "It's a school for kids like you. They've got a 24-hour nursing staff, plenty of physical therapy type stuff, and you can get your education. In fact, you'll probably learn more from there than from some public school. Trust me."

Homura closed the little pamphlet, turning to her doctor.

"Of course, if you do want to go to public school you can. It's just, over at Yamaku, you won't be treated like a special little snowflake. You'll be normal."

Homura nodded.

"Think it over, you've got a few weeks. Also," He now pulled out a much large stack of papers, "Paper work."

Homura flipped through the sheets. Line after line of chemicals she could never hope to pronounce, dosages she could never try to measure, side effects she never knew existed popped out at her from the black lettering.

"I just need signatures. If you actually feel like reading the whole thing, go ahead. It's just your approval for your medication. Heart control stuff, y'know."

Another nod from Homura. The doctor handed her a pen. Within a few minutes, her signature had appeared at least eight times on the massive stack of papers.

White papers.

Always white…

The doctor took the stack, turning to leave.

"Oh, and Doctor Miki?" Homura said, a hint of earnest in her voice.

"Yes, Miss Akemi?" He replied, a drop of teasing in his tone.

"Could I get the paperwork for going to Yamaku?"

Doctor Miki's smile turned from the usual I'm-smiling-because-I'm-supposed-to doctor smile, into a real grin. A real, honest grin, showing off his full enthusiasm for Homrua's choice.

"Of course."