While Kyouko stuffed herself with food, Sayaka kept tapping a finger against the table. Waiting around only risked more Magical Girls going missing. She was getting ready to slam her own head against the table in frustration, before Kyouko finally finished.

The redhead leaned back on her chair. "Thanks for the food. I'll pay you back once I get a job."

"Who are you?" Sayaka joked.

Kyouko burped. "So, what now?"

"It's a secret." Knowing Kyouko would refuse to help Sayaka, it would be good if she only caught onto Sayaka's plan when it was too late to counteract. "Let's go."

Sayaka picked the hamburger shop for good reason. It was beside the train station, the easiest way to get to cities nearby. Before Homura called, Sayaka had planned to travel with Kyouko to Kasamino. She thought it might be nice to visit Kyoko's hometown with her, but now Sayaka believed whatever or whomever was behind the disappearance of the Magical Girls might be lurking within Asunaro. They could always visit Kasamino later, anyway.

When the train came, Kyouko didn't ask questions about where Sayaka planned to go. She merely observed the outside world when they got in the train - which wasn't much. Lots of buildings... so many buildings... too many. That's what it seemed like at first.

The two girls gripped on the railing as the train gained speed. They passed the lake, then caught a glimpse of a park Sayaka used to frequent when she was a little kid. Those old memories of her and Hitomi playing in the fields only pained her now. She tried not to think about it.

Kyouko still looked to the outside surroundings. "We're heading out pretty far."

"We're... visiting a place I haven't been to in a long time." The train stopped, two platforms away from entering Asunaro territory. The doors opened and out came several passengers. Just a little longer and they'd be in Asunaro. As long as Kyouko didn't say anything-

Kyouko grabbed Sayaka's wrist. Her grip was strong. "Yeah, right."

Sayaka tried holding onto the railing, but Kyouko managed to pull her out of the train.

"Kyouko!"

"I'm not stupid. You were trying to force me into helping you with your stupid heroics. You trying to get us killed? What the hell are you thinking?"

"That you would help me in return for all the food I gave you?" Sayaka asked plainly.

Kyouko smacked a palm against her brow. "I'm not gonna repeat what Homura told us. You're not going, I'm not going, end of story. I understand it's a big deal and all, to you, that we help those girls out, but we can't help them this way. Personally I don't even care about them. It's not our job to save Magical Girls; Magical Girls' jobs are to save innocent people, not each other."

"And why not?" Sayaka asked. "Who are you to say who's innocent and who's not, anyway?"

"Look, let's talk about this somewhere else. I don't feel like attracting a crowd."

"Fine." She was ready to tear down Kyouko's survivalist attitude for good, or at least try to.

After getting out of the train station they walked over to an alley, in silence. The alley was not unlike the one they first met in. Pipes snaked the walls on both sides, water leaked out of a few busted ones, and steam fizzled out of them into the air. It gave Sayaka a strange sense of nostalgia, despite the fact the first time she and Kyouko met there they tried to kill each other.

Kyouko leaned against a side of the alley. "So, you wanna know why it isn't our job to protect Magical Girls? What I mean, exactly, is we - Magical Girls - have the tools to survive on our own: weapons, magic, a functioning brain with at least some common sense, and the desire to live, hopefully. If we slip up and die, or go missing, it's our own fault. We're not like the rest of humanity, the 'innocent people', you could say. It's to our advantage that we help those people out, since demons are attracted to them."

Sayaka watched the passing clouds. "You saved my life, you know, after we had that talk in the abandoned church and I left to go fight demons on my own. Despite me telling you off, you still came to help me out. You let me, someone you had barely known, cry in your arms afterwards." At the time, Sayaka had so much pent-up frustration, confusion, and sadness. She almost immediately broke down after the battle. She felt relieved that someone had aided her; had cared about her. Kyouko asked her about what her problem was, and she told her about how she was going to lose Hitomi to Kyousuke. "If I had ended up surviving the battle without any help, I would've continued fighting until my soul gem turned black completely. I'll always be grateful to you for what you did. Now, if you were willing to give me a chance, can't you do the same for those other girls?"

"No, I can't," Kyouko said. "I already told you back then, I saw myself in you. Believe me when I say your way of thinking doesn't appeal to me."

"Yeah, well, I feel the same way about your hypocritical way."

She bared her fangs. "What did you just say?"

"Kyouko, don't you get it? We help each other; we're Magical Girls. It's not our job, you say, yet we still do. You also forget we benefit from helping Magical Girls out, since most of them, I assume, naturally fight against demons, and we're no one man armies - except Homura maybe. I think cooperation is key."

"No, you don't get it Sayaka! You make it sound like all Magical Girls are like us, which is utter bullshit. There are no shining knights in armor save for you and Mami." Kyouko sighed. "Some Magical Girls would stab you in the back given the opportunity, or some would kill you because they see you as a threat to their territory or their life."

"Not all of them are like that! I still don't understand you, Kyouko..." After Kyouko had told Sayaka her story about her wish, Sayaka felt like she understood her, that deep down, the girl who fought for herself did and still does believe in the stories where the heroes and heroines, and courage and love do prevail above all else. Sayaka wanted to believe Kyouko still believed in those things, but her mindset was so opposite sounding, it made Sayaka wonder. Never one to give up, she'd try to grasp that way of thinking and turn it around. "If you feel that way, why did you join up with the others and I? Be honest."

"Honestly, Mami was my teacher, and she had you and Homura." Kyouko stared at her feet and folded her arms. "I saw it as a good opportunity for myself. I won't pretend soloing demons was easy."

"That's your only reason?" Sayaka did feel some truth to it, but those times Kyouko fought alone and wandered aimlessly must have been lonely for her.

"Obviously!" Kyouko yelled, both hands balled in fists to her sides. "If there was another damn reason, I would have told you. God!"

Sayaka laughed. "Well, that's that." She hoped to finish this conversation some other time.

"And no matter what you say, you're not leaving this city."

"Says you." Sayaka stuck her hands on her hips. "I could just outrun you, you know." That was a bluff, she had to admit. Then she thought of another proposition, though it wasn't a good one. "Would it bother you if I go by myself, then? That way, there's no danger for you, since helping Magical Girls ain't your business, right?"

"Don't put me in this position, Sayaka," Kyouko muttered. "I'm really tired of your heroic antics, and I'm tired of this dead fuckin' conversation about those missing girls. If you're really serious and I can't stop you with words, I'll just have to break your legs and drag you back to Homura's house."

A fight, eh? "You're serious too, huh. Alright then, I guess we will have to fight. I've always wanted a rematch against you."

Kyouko laughed at that. Sayaka would be the one laughing in the end. "You can't win," Kyouko said. "We both know it."

"I've gotten better. Much better." Sayaka was no longer a pushover thanks to Homura constantly putting her at work to fight demons for months. Sometimes that girl would bring Sayaka along on demon hunts, only to have Sayaka fight them alone while Homura provided cover fire with her arrows, when necessary. Every now and then they'd have 'friendly' matches where they'd fight each other, which would result in Sayaka getting her ass kicked. Every. Single. Time. Some days Sayaka would feel so exhausted even her healing magic couldn't help her. Perhaps Homura's training affected her mentally as well as physically. She'd make an excellent drill sergeant, Sayaka mused.

Mami also helped. She taught Sayaka the basics of being a Magical Girl. Contrary to how Sayaka thought of her, Mami could become as aggressive as Homura, during training, and she did, when it came to increasing Sayaka's reflexes. She'd pelt Sayaka with BB pellets, telling the blue-haired girl she would eventually learn to block them. Most painful training sessions ever. To be fair, Sayaka was the one who thought of the idea. She didn't want to feel like a nuisance to everyone else. She knew how terrible a Magical Girl she was. She just hadn't thought Mami would give her no warning as to when she'd fire the BBs from her muskets. Painful as they were, those training sessions helped her grow as a fighter. Though Sayaka felt no real change in her reflexes, she knew she was faster than ever; she could block shots from several muskets almost all at once now.

Reflexes weren't the only thing Mami helped with. She taught Sayaka the basics of healing. Sayaka had a natural affinity for healing, both in learning how to use it and executing it. Now Sayaka could fully heal other Magical girls in seconds, thanks to Mami, though it stressed her soul gem to its limits.

Both Mami and Homura trained Sayaka in other ways too. Homura would force her to cut down arrows in midair while Mami used ribbons in attempts to stop Sayaka. Those training sessions didn't last long. Something about getting shot in the face with bolts of purple light rubbed her the wrong way, more so than BB pellets.

But all that hard work and training was about to pay off. Kyouko would probably be surprised, since she hardly bothered to watch or train Sayaka because of boredom, laziness, hunger, or sometimes a combination of all three.

Kyouko smirked. "I'm sure you have. Either way, I'm gonna enjoy this." Red light shimmered against her body before scattering, bringing out her red outfit. Her spear materialized and she swung it around, showing off, as if Sayaka never saw her flashy moves before.

Sayaka grinned. "Yeah." Blue light enveloped her clothes, transforming them into her blue and white outfit. She conjured her sword from nothingness, pointed towards Kyouko.

Both girls stared at each other's eyes. They waited for the slightest shift in eye movement to betray their thoughts.

Sayaka held the hilt tightly. She strafed left, Kyouko countered strafing right. They both smiled. Sayaka never knew a mere standoff could pump her heart with so much excitement.

But before they truly began she felt the need to bring up their friendship one last time. "One last thing. Do you like Mami more than you like me?"

"...That doesn't matter," Kyouko muttered. "You're important to me, Sayaka. That's why I won't let you get yourself killed."

"Thanks." Hearing those words were enough. They filled her chest with a slight fuzziness. "You mean a lot to me too. That's why I'll have to apologize to you, for kicking your ass."

Kyouko chuckled. "I'm looking forward to it." She brought her spear hand behind her. "Now shut up and fight!" She swung the spear, its pointed head connected by chains, launched towards Sayaka.