The diner was full to bursting when Sayaka arrived and she frowned a little. Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for a free table. She knew it had been a bad idea to come without Madoka or Hitomi but her craving for strawberry shortcake was always her undoing. She'd dragged Kyousuke halfway around a village once on a school trip to get some. Finally, her blue eyes settled on a girl sat alone on a window table, surface top littered with empty plates.

Her eyes narrowed a little as she recognised Kyoko. Of course, this was the new mahou shoujo in town. Already she'd got off to a bumpy start, fighting with Sayaka over a witch hunt. Her fingers clenched slightly on her soul gem but then let go with a shrug of her shoulders she made her way to the redhead's laden table. Hell, she wasn't going to be scared away by the competition. Just because Kyoko had more experience than her, didn't mean she was better. And this was Sayaka's territory now, not hers. She owed it to Mami to keep going in her stead. Besides that was the duty of a magical girl, or so Kyubey told her.

Kyoko looked up lazily as Sayaka approached, not even pausing in her eating. Sayaka's eyes widened as she counted the plates.

"How can you eat so many!?" She blurted out.

Kyoko slowly stopped chewing and wrinkled her nose.

"Hey, I'm keeping my strength up!" She eyed Sayaka meaningfully. "You'd do well to do the same – you're a scrawny little thing!"

Sayaka reacted with predictable outrage.

"I'm not scrawny! I'm just..."

She trailed off as Kyoko took another bite of apple pie, her attention once more lost. She tapped the table impatiently. Kyoko looked up again, a flickering of eyelashes.

"Oh, you're still here? Haven't you got a witch to be catching or something?" She eyed Sayaka's clothing with a slight sneer. "Or school, even?"

Sayaka coloured.

"I've got a free lesson if you must know. And this is where I usually eat but-"

Kyoko appeared to have caught her meaning, grinning with sharp white teeth.

"Oh! I see... nowhere to sit, huh? That's tough. Well, as I'm feeling so gracious today – you can share my table. Just don't touch my food."

Sayaka's eye's widened. Had she really heard that right? She had thought it would have been a lot more difficult to convince her. Kyoko raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Well?"

Sayaka hastily took a seat opposite the other girl, typing her order into the inbuilt computer set into the table.

"Er... thanks, I guess," She murmured.

"Can it. We're still rivals, remember? Even though you're so new to this to call you so is practically laughable. But... even enemies can work together in times of peace. If the situation calls for it."

Sayaka pursed her lips at that.

"Isn't an enemy always an enemy? Witches never turn good, do they?"

"Acting smart doesn't suit you, Sayaka. You're much cuter when you keep your mouth shut."

Sayaka wasn't sure what to say to that but as luck would have it, her pudding arrived at that moment. Kyoko appeared to have finished her last plate too and Sayaka smiled. She'd have the table to herself soon enough. But, as she took the first bite of her pudding, sucking the spoon; she noticed Kyoko hadn't moved. Was instead sitting, watching her with hands steepled under her chin.

"What?" She spluttered with her mouth full.

Slender fingers reached out and Sayaka froze, spoon still fixed in her mouth. For a second, she though Kyoko was going to touch her and she tensed, heart thudding in her chest. From fear or shock or-?

Kyoko laughed and she plucked the strawberry from the top of Sayaka's pudding, popping it lightly in her mouth.

"Be seeing ya, newbie! Entertain me again next fight, won't ya?"

She'd gone before Sayaka could protest, a flash of red hair marking her derparture. Sayaka swallowed, finally placing the spoon back down, realising just how very foolish she must look.

Suddenly her pudding didn't seem so important anymore.