"Alright everyone, see you at the training grounds tomorrow. I'm exhausted today, so I need to get some good rest."
"I thought as long as you had a horse girl's legs to massage, you'd never get tired."
Nakayama Festa was the first to receive Kitano's acupuncture treatment today, but she hadn't paid any attention to its effects. Too scared to watch the needles, she had covered her eyes the entire time. All she could remember was the occasional feeling of Kitano's hands on her legs and how her own cheeks had felt like they were on fire.
However, after Kitano later performed acupuncture on Seiun Sky, Gold Ship, and Oguri Cap, Nakayama Festa's shyness was quickly replaced by a burgeoning sense of annoyance.
Fortunately, even though she was irritated by Kitano's "equal attention for all," she could see how genuinely tired he was. Not wanting to press the issue, she waved a hand and was the first to leave. But before she left, she showed her concern in her own unique way.
"Get to bed early. If I see you looking listless tomorrow, don't even bother showing up at the training grounds."
"Alright, see you tomorrow, Festa." Accustomed to her way of showing she cared, Kitano replied without missing a beat. Soon after, the other horse girls, led by Mejiro Ardan, left together for their dormitories.
"Well, we'll be heading back too. Thank you for your hard work, Trainer Kitano."
"Gold Ship-chan is going back to the moon to sleep now!"
"...See you tomorrow."
One by one, the horse girls said their goodbyes to Kitano. But just as she was about to leave, the ever-serene Silent Suzuka turned her head slightly. She had noticed Mr. C.B. choosing to walk in the opposite direction from them, her steps deliberately slow.
As Suzuka watched, Kitano didn't fully close his door, leaving it slightly ajar. It was like a silent, unspoken signal, sparking the imagination.
It seems... they really do have a secret, Trainer-san and Chigiri-senpai, Suzuka thought. This doesn't feel like the first time they've done this. But I don't recall them having secret meetings like this before...
Then... there's only one possibility. Chigiri-senpai is the "same kind" as me... And it seems Trainer-san remembers her, too.
A glint flashed in Silent Suzuka's eyes. She slowed her pace, intentionally falling to the back of the group. Then, she discreetly removed one of her green ear covers and slipped it into her pocket.
"Oh no, I think I left my ear cover back in Trainer-san's room!"
With a practiced look of feigned surprise, Suzuka turned to the other girls who had stopped upon hearing her voice. She covered her ears with her hands, her expression natural, yet making it clear to everyone that one of her ear covers was indeed missing.
"What should I do... I don't have a spare. It feels... so strange without it."
"Then just go back and get it," Nakayama Festa said nonchalantly, seeing Suzuka's apparent distress.
Having gotten the response she wanted, Suzuka still put on a show of hesitation. Finally, letting discomfort win over her feigned embarrassment, she trembled slightly and whispered to the others:
"I-I'll be right back."
With that, she dashed back towards the trainer's dormitory. Watching her retreating figure, Seiun Sky, who was walking beside Mejiro Ardan, frowned. Something felt off.
She remembered... didn't Suzuka have both ear covers on when they left? How could one suddenly be missing?
—Wait, she's going back to him in secret!
"Hey? Seiun Sky, where are you going?"
Seiun Sky suddenly pulled her hand free from Ardan's and sprinted back towards the dorm. Startled, Ardan reached out, only to hear Seiun Sky's clear voice call back:
"My very important earring fell off back there! Ardan-san, you go on ahead without me."
As Seiun Sky charged up the stairs at a speed she'd never reached before, it seemed to dawn on Gold Ship and Nakayama Festa as well. The two of them simultaneously bolted towards the staircase, shouting their own excuses to Ardan.
"Gold Ship-chan left her transmitter to the Gold Star there!"
"I— ahh! This is so annoying! I don't know what I forgot! But I definitely forgot something there!"
The two raced upstairs, leaving a stunned Mejiro Ardan standing alone. She suddenly felt that if she didn't follow along and "forget something" too, she'd be the odd one out.
Besides, she was also quite curious. She had initially planned to pretend she hadn't seen Kitano and Mr. C.B.'s little exchange to give them some privacy. But now, it seemed that even if she joined in, she wouldn't be the one to break the peace.
Alright then, I'll go have a listen. Just what is the deal with Chigiri-senpai and Trainer Kitano?
As Ardan also headed back into the building, in a nearby room, a security guard witnessed the scene of multiple horse girls storming back into the dorm. He remained utterly unfazed, pretending not to see anything as he turned his attention back to the newspaper in his hands.
It was clear that horse girls barging into a trainer's dormitory was nothing new for him; in fact, it was all too common. Whenever something went missing from a trainer's room—personal items, sometimes even underwear—he wouldn't even bother checking the security footage unless it was something particularly valuable.
Nine times out of ten, it was their own horse girls who were responsible. This time, however, seeing so many of them at once was indeed a rare sight. It only prompted the experienced guard to sigh with a hint of melancholy.
"I just hope he's still in one piece tomorrow and not just a skin left behind."
"Sigh... when did it all start? The horse girls from a decade ago were so driven. How did they turn out like this?"
"...So, Chigiri, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Inside the room, Kitano was completely oblivious to what was about to unfold. He unsuspectingly heated a glass of milk and handed it to Mr. C.B., only to be met with a very direct question:
"—Trainer-san, have you ever loved someone?"
The abrupt question made Kitano, who was busy putting away the sterilized acupuncture needles, freeze for a moment. He sensed something was off; this didn't seem like a question Mr. C.B. would ask.
But the surprise was fleeting. After all, Mr. C.B. had always been a "free" spirit. As someone who had spent a lifetime trying and failing to truly understand her, Kitano knew her topics of conversation and train of thought could be erratic. It wasn't entirely out of character for her to ask a tricky question now and then.
Still, this particular question filled him with a certain melancholy.
"Love... Yes, I have. I truly have."
Kitano admitted it freely. Behind him, a blush crept onto Mr. C.B.'s cheeks. Her hand, holding the warm milk, began to fidget nervously.
Kitano admitted he had loved, and not just once, but many times.
Treating each "cycle" as a new life experience, Kitano had learned after the cycle with Mr. C.B. and Symboli Rudolf that his initial plan of "non-interference" was doomed to fail. It was impossible for him to maintain a distance from his charges for three whole years.
Since a detached relationship was impossible from the start, he decided to devote himself wholeheartedly to teaching and nurturing them. His life could be reset, and his memories retained, but their lives were a one-time event. He was determined to give every horse girl the most perfect life possible.
In that process, Kitano had loved someone in every cycle... Mejiro Ardan, Oguri Cap, Silent Suzuka, Special Week... While the nature of his "love" differed—not every horse girl was the object of romantic love in his eyes—the list of those he loved was long.
For instance, in this current cycle, he would dare say he loved Gold Ship and Nakayama Festa. But in his eyes, they were more like children he was looking after, similar to Special Week and Oguri Cap. As for Seiun Sky, he certainly loved her too, but it was a paternal love, like that for a daughter, different in nature from his feelings for Festa and the others.
However, Kitano's answer sounded completely different in Mr. C.B.'s ears. Now that she had recovered her past memories and confirmed they were real, she found herself at a loss as to how to face him.
She knew now... she had betrayed his love for her. The two rings, buried with their memories in a wooden box that wouldn't decay for a hundred years, were enough for her to imagine the immense pain her past actions must have caused him.
Mr. C.B. was deeply worried that the damage she had inflicted upon him was irreversible. Even if he had forgiven her on his deathbed, she couldn't be sure. In her memory, Kitano was the type of person who could let go of anything as he faced the end, and that didn't feel like true forgiveness.
That's why she had come. She wanted to hear from his own lips whether he had ever truly loved her.
Receiving that affirmative answer, her spirits lifted, and she decided to press on. "Then, Trainer-san, have you ever regretted loving the wrong person?"
"—There's no such thing as loving the wrong person in this world. If a single incident can turn your love for someone into hate, then it was never love to begin with—only mere possessiveness."
Kitano felt that Mr. C.B.'s behavior was growing stranger, and the atmosphere in the room was becoming tense. Nevertheless, he followed her line of questioning.
"Love isn't a fleeting moment; it's a long-term commitment. It's when you know their flaws and can forgive their mistakes. When you realize you can't live without them—that is true love."
"...You're right."
A long silence descended upon the room. Neither Kitano nor Mr. C.B. spoke. The room was so quiet they could almost hear their own heartbeats, which seemed to be accelerating, threatening to burst from their chests. The feeling became unbearable for Mr. C.B.
No, I can't hold it in any longer—
"Trainer-san, I—"
Click.
Suddenly, just as Mr. C.B. was about to speak, the door to the dormitory room was pushed open without warning, shattering their conversation and the intimate atmosphere.
Standing in the doorway was the tall and elegant Silent Suzuka. The distress she had shown in front of Festa and the others was completely gone. Instead, she wore a serene smile. Upon seeing Mr. C.B., she feigned a little surprise, tilted her head, and said softly:
"Oh my, Chigiri-senpai, you're still here? I hope I'm not interrupting."
"I seem to have dropped one of my ear covers in here. If it's alright, may I come in and look for it?"
Suzuka did her best to project her stereotype of being oblivious to everything but running. Not far away, Nakayama Festa, Gold Ship, and Seiun Sky were huddled together at a distance, peeking in, trying to witness everything that was happening.
They had a growing suspicion that the events unfolding right now might just reveal a certain mystery... the mystery of Kitano.
-------
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