Mami

"Thank you for the food," Homura said.

"You're welcome," Mami said.

They sat across each other, a round purple dining table between them. Mami had laid out two bowls of miso soup; one for Homura and one for herself. It wasn't much for breakfast, but Homura had little else in her kitchen's contents. Perhaps now would be a good time to point out they could eat out somewhere.

"Say, Akemi-san, we can always go eat out if you're still hungry after this."

Homura, with her chopsticks, grabbed a piece of tofu in her bowl. She stared at it for a moment, her face a blank expression. "That won't be necessary. This'll be sufficient. I prefer eating in my own household, anyway." She chewed on the tofu silently.

"Yeah, but you don't have much food lying around in your kitchen." All the raven-haired girl really had was instant curry, ramen, microwave mochi, and some orange drinks that tasted rather tangy. "What you do have isn't very healthy."

"I'm not much of a food person," Homura replied.

Mami stared at the girl while eating her own tofu. She never heard someone say something like that. She wondered how Kyouko would respond to hearing Homura's words. She would probably get all upset and confused, or she'd grin and say "More for me!", or something like that. Well, at the least, she would be happy Homura didn't waste food, if her almost emptied kitchen was any indication. Kyouko would hate living with her, though; no more refrigerator raiding.

"You could at least try new things," Mami said. "It's always a good experience, and you never know, you may end up finding something you'll love."

"I suppose that's true..." Homura sipped her miso soup. "I'll think about it. Your soup is good, by the way."

"Thank you." Mami was a master of cooking. After her parents had passed away she learned how to cook on her own. Sometimes she thought of them while cooking; how they would never get a chance to taste her peach pies...

"Are you alright, Tomoe-san?"

Homura's soft voice snapped Mami out of her sad thoughts.

"Oh, yes." Her lips twisted up in a fake smile. "I just spaced out a little."

"Something on your mind?" Homura's violet eyes gave off a dead, piercing gaze; they might have seen through Mami's smile.

Still, Mami continued smiling.

"No, I'm just tired." She didn't want to look weak, nor did she bother talking about her own problems. Mami would rather keep to herself about those; just thinking about them hurt. Maybe Homura would share her own problems - or she might talk about that 'Madoka Kaname' girl again... Either way, Mami just wanted to avoid talking about her own regrets in life.

Besides, Homura was an interesting person. She usually tried keeping to herself, she was always polite and calm, and there were hints of sadness and happiness in her voice at times - especially when she talked about Madoka. Whenever Homura talked about that girl, her pale face would brighten, her usual cold eyes would glitter, and her lips would form a small smile.

Mami liked that. She felt that Homura and herself might have shared a connection, like they both suffered a similar pain. If all what Homura said about Madoka was true, then indeed they both knew of similar pains; losing loved ones. Mami figured Homura loved that girl with all her heart, and she herself loved her parents so much, she wished she could redo her wish to save them too.

"Is there anything you would like to talk about?" Mami asked. "Any troubles?"

Homura drank the rest of her miso soup. "Well, I had a run in with more demons than usual a few days ago, not that it was a problem, but it has alarmed me to a possibility of despair growing in the city."

Surprise, surprise, Mami thought. If she's not talking about Madoka, she's talking about demons.

"So more demon hunting, then?" Mami drank her soup.

"Possibly," Homura said. "I'll scope out the city tonight and see if there's more herds like that again. I'll also be on the lookout for any other kind of intruders."

"You're not alone, you have me for help. Although your earlier news has me a little afraid of what could happen."

"Well, I believe you and I alone are capable enough to defend ourselves from any threat, as long as we keep cool heads."

Mami smiled at that, but she had something else on her mind. "Maybe just this one day."

"Huh?" Homura's brow wrinkled slightly.

"Maybe... just this one day, we can go out and try having fun. I mean, there are four of us. If demons show up, Sayaka and Kyouko can take care of them, and if whatever is causing Magical Girls to go missing comes, we can all meet and come up with a plan." We'll handle the threat, if it comes down to it. "I don't see what's wrong with having a little fun; we both need it." She picked up the empty bowls. "Fighting, studying, and eating. Repeat. They get so repetitive sometimes."

Homura sat there for a little, staring at the purple table. Mami could only guess what she was thinking, or maybe not. What she probably thought was "fighting demons is our number one priority. Having fun comes later. Not to mention all the missing girls."

Mami prepared herself for disappointment as she washed the bowls in the kitchen's sink. After she finished she saw Homura take a sip of some of that tangy orange drink beside the fridge.

"I do think one day of rest from our duties is okay, as long as Kyouko and Sayaka can handle themselves. What do you have in mind?" Homura asked.

What? Mami pondered, stunned that the raven-haired girl would be okay with it. Is this really happening? She scratched her head. "Well... now that you mention it, I'm not too sure myself." How embarrassing, not even knowing what I want to do. Buying new clothes? Yeah, that might be an option. I would love a few more tank tops and jackets. Hm, Homura hardly dresses in casual wear, now that I think about it. A new wardrobe would do her good. Wait. Has she ever dressed in something other than her school outfit? She definitely needs some new clothes. She'd look amazing in a kimono. But would shopping even be fun for her? I don't know. "Want to go shopping?"

"For what?"

"Clothes."

"Well, I guess I'm okay with it," Homura said. "Athough I'm fine with what I wear, now."

Not really one for fashion, huh. "But does it sound fun to you?" Mami asked.

"I'm not sure how to answer that," Homura spoke plainly.

Mami giggled, then smiled. "So I guess shopping is going in our plans. There's something else I want to do as well, now that I remember." Before she became a Magical Girl, Mami's parents bought her a pair of Rollerblades because she had once seen a foreign television program where kids rode on them all the time. She wanted to do that, thought inline skating was interesting, and so pestered her parents until they got her some skates. She loved them. Now she'd get some new ones for herself and Homura - and laugh. Seeing Homura skating? This will be a day to remember. "Akemi-san, how does skating sound?"