To be honest, there are times when Kitahara really has no idea what's going on in the heads of his Uma Musume.
Especially Agnes Tachyon. As the resident mad scientist and queen of causing trouble, even in this already impossible-to-understand team of his, she'd still rank near the top for inscrutability.
Take just recently, for example. She knew perfectly well that whatever affection she felt toward him was just a side effect of an experiment gone wrong—and the accident was entirely her own fault to begin with.
And yet, after the fact, she turned around and held a grudge against him, brooding endlessly over what happened.
Just over a little episode like that, she kept acting out in all sorts of ways, some of which even crossed the line, all just to get back at him.
And now, with Daiwa Scarlet having come in, Kitahara was the one in control of the situation.
But somehow, Tachyon still hadn't figured that out, still dead set on messing with him.
Once or twice, Kitahara could just chalk it up to a prank and let it slide.
But if it happened a few more times, well, as her Trainer, maybe he'd just hold it in for now and wait until Daiwa was gone, then find a chance to talk some sense into her in private.
But the problem was, ever since the checkup began until now, he'd been holding back the whole time, finally got a chance to send Daiwa off and wrap up this awkward situation—
Only for Tachyon to suddenly speak up, forcibly keeping Daiwa around, and while covering Daiwa's eyes, launch a shameless sneak attack on him.
In a situation like this, if he didn't hit back, who knew what else she'd try next time.
So, at his limit, Kitahara finally retaliated.
As for how, exactly—
Simply put, he gave her a taste of her own medicine.
Whatever Tachyon had just done to him, he returned to her—with interest. Sometimes even double.
For example: just now, under the pretense of a checkup, she'd been causing trouble with his fingers in all sorts of ways. He couldn't exactly bite her fingers in return.
But thanks to past experience, Kitahara knew her ears were hypersensitive even among Uma Musume, so when the opportunity came, he went straight for them with a bite.
And as for her earlier "wiggling"—well, with her palms pinned, she couldn't put much strength into it, and besides, there aren't that many nerves in your backside.
But during the checkup, Kitahara had already noticed something: the strange energy inside him could be used as a kind of "touch" to aid with treatment.
He hadn't tried it before, but thinking it over, Kitahara decided to run a live experiment on Tachyon and gave her a taste of "remote nursing."
If this had been the usual Tachyon, maybe she'd have resisted a bit.
And if all else failed, she'd probably just turn on the puppy-dog eyes, act cute, beg forgiveness—and Kitahara likely wouldn't press her any further.
But the problem was, right now she had Daiwa Scarlet in her arms.
Forget fighting back—she couldn't even let out a strange sound, or allow herself to tremble too much, for fear the little one in her arms would notice anything was off.
After a while, once Kitahara could see Tachyon was nearly at her limit, he finally let her off.
And this time, after he stopped, Tachyon didn't dare, or rather didn't even have the strength, to keep holding Daiwa.
Seeing her surrender, Kitahara also stopped talking to Daiwa, took her gently from Tachyon's arms, and carried her out.
Of course, it's not like Kitahara had any particular feelings for Daiwa Scarlet. It was simply that, in Tachyon's current state, it wouldn't do for the little one to see her like that.
To prevent her from looking back—or from Tachyon trying any more tricks—he personally escorted Daiwa out.
On the way, feeling how much heavier Daiwa's body was compared to before, and how much more defined her outline had become, Kitahara couldn't help but grumble inwardly.
How do these Uma Musume grow so fast? She'd been a tiny little thing not that long ago, and now, just like that, she'd shot up.
He'd believe it if you told him she'd matured several years in just a few months...
Grumbling to himself, Kitahara sent Daiwa on her way.
Once that was done, he returned to the lab, and then—
Click.
As the crisp sound of the lock rang out, Tachyon, sprawled out on the bed and gasping for breath, suddenly felt her heart skip.
She looked up to see Kitahara approaching, expressionless, and a bad premonition welled up inside her. She swallowed, throat moving.
"Um, Kitahara, the checkup's not over yet. Let me recover a bit and we can continue..."
"It's fine. I just thought of a more efficient method."
Kitahara calmly pulled up a chair and sat down in front of her, both hands starting to glow.
"Like you said before—there's nothing like personal experience for effective results."
"And I just happened to discover this—turns out this thing can be used for nursing, correcting the body both physically and on another level at the same time."
"But this is all new to me too. I need an experimental subject... Tachyon, what do you think?"
Gulp.
Staring at his faintly glowing hands, Tachyon swallowed hard.
"Can I say no?"
Kitahara looked at her, voice steady.
"I gave you a chance."
And with that, as those radiant hands descended, the lab filled with howls of misery.
Which soon faded into silence.
...
Time started moving again.
After a busy November, Kitahara's life returned to normal.
At least, on the surface.
To everyone else, after a hectic November, Kitahara seemed to be back to his usual clock-in, clock-out, loafing-around-after-work routine.
But actually, in places no one else could see, Kitahara was quietly studying the power within him—trying to master it, and coming up with all sorts of new ways to use it.
As for Karai Risa—since he worried the energy might affect humans as well, and not wanting any more victims, after the Tachyon lab incident, Kitahara put off asking her for help. He decided to wait until he had more control.
And though he didn't seek out Karai Risa, after some time spent researching, there were results on Tachyon's side—at the very least, they figured out what Kitahara's energy actually did when it was manifested.
Emotional catalysis.
Unlike the Matatabi effect Kitahara had expected, the energy flowing from him didn't attract Uma Musume per se.
Instead, it simply—by some means—amplified whatever genuine feelings they already had, without directly altering anyone's thoughts.
Honestly, for Kitahara, there wasn't much difference between the two—if anything, the latter might be even worse.
And as for whether the energy was dangerous...
After days of observation, and after Oguri Cap had fully absorbed all the energy in her system, neither Kitahara nor Tachyon found any harm done to her.
Actually, it wasn't just harmless—after further checkups, they discovered that once Oguri Cap had fully absorbed the energy, she improved across the board.
More strength. Faster. Both explosive power and stamina shot up...
Reaction time, physical coordination—even intelligence—rose sharply...
While the others, unaware of the situation, all chalked this up to Oguri Cap's True Awakening, those in the know couldn't help but exchange a look.
If you know, you know.
But honestly, the stuff wasn't entirely harmless either.
Or, to put it another way: while it wasn't outright addictive, it was a lot like fine cuisine.
Once you've tasted it, of course you want seconds. Maybe even crave it every day.
Especially for someone like Oguri Cap, who was already obsessed with both food and Kitahara—in fact, just a week after that incident, she came to Kitahara in private, asking for another "meal."
At first, Kitahara wanted to refuse.
But seeing that pitiful look on her face, listening to her almost-whimpering plea, he caved and agreed.
Afterward, following her "feeding," Oguri Cap even tugged down her skirt.
She made sure, after her "meal," that those beautiful "markings" on her lower belly had become more visible again—and her mood noticeably improved.
As for Tachyon, she didn't know Oguri Cap had sneaked in a second helping.
But once she realized Kitahara's energy could boost an Uma Musume's abilities, her eyes lit up, and she started acting cute, begging Kitahara for a share.
As usual, Kitahara wanted to say no, but before he could, Tachyon explained:
Recently, helping him research had made her put off a ton of her own work and affected her training too.
Partly as compensation, partly for research, basically—she wanted Kitahara to give her a couple bites of that energy.
With her presenting such a case, Kitahara couldn't say no in the end.
Of course, she said she'd only have "two bites, just a taste."
But once they started, Tachyon kept going until swirling patterns covered her lower abdomen—and only stopped when she physically couldn't take any more.
Not that Tachyon was a glutton like Oguri Cap, or that Kitahara's energy had some irresistible pull on her.
Like she said before, Kitahara's power only amplifies feelings; it doesn't create them from nothing.
So for Oguri Cap, it manifested as appetite, while for Tachyon, it triggered instant desire. She did think Kitahara's flavor was nice, but not enough to make her lose her mind.
Then why do it?
For the markings.
That's right—even power boosts were secondary; what Tachyon really wanted was those swirling "markings" on her belly.
And as for what use they were...
Honestly, not much.
With Kitahara being as dense as he is—
Never mind patterns on her belly, even if she covered her whole body with them, took a shower, and crawled into his bed, he'd just throw her out and lecture her. Trying to break through that way? Dream on.
Still, even if those things were useless, just having them was a kind of proof.
Honestly, just Oguri Cap and Tachyon sneaking snacks was already giving Kitahara a headache.
But right as he was at his wit's end, another problem cropped up with Hayakawa-san.
Not that anything was wrong with her health.
Quite the opposite—thanks to Kitahara's meticulous care, after two weeks of pretending to be her boyfriend, her condition had improved immensely.
But the thing was, according to plan, their fake couple act should have ended after two weeks.
Yet now, with December already a few days in, Hayakawa-san hadn't brought it up at all.
Eventually, Kitahara couldn't take it and went to her himself—only to see her looking a little embarrassed.
"Sorry, Trainer Kitahara. About that... we might have to drag things out a little longer..."
"Why?"
Hayakawa-san cleared her throat, explaining:
"It's like this. I was the one who suggested the fake couple plan, but I never expected things would spiral so far out of control."
"Now, nearly the entire academy thinks we're together. If we suddenly split up, the girls might get suspicious, and maybe even figure out the truth..."
"I'm not worried about my own reputation. But if the girls ever learn I lied, they might never trust me again—or worse, they could start doubting the Chairwoman too..."
"I know this is all my fault, but for Tracen's sake, I'd like to ask you to keep pretending with me, just a little longer... Is that all right?"
With her saying all that, Kitahara couldn't refuse. He could only agree.
Afterward, he trudged back to the dorm, sprawled on his bed, ready to squeeze his black rice ball for some stress relief.
But he hadn't even gotten comfy before his phone buzzed.
He checked it—only to see a message from someone he hadn't expected.
[President]:If you're free, come to the usual place.
[President]:There's something important I'd like to discuss with you.