That knocking was enough to jolt Kagura awake from her drowsy half-nap. She looked around and saw Bizen Nishiki leaning against the lounge chair with a strange expression—like she was inexplicably nervous.
"What's wrong?"
"N-nothing! Kagura, go open the door!"
Bizen Nishiki waved her hands in a fluster, forcing a smile that was supposed to look calm.
Kagura couldn't make head or tail of it, and she didn't feel like overthinking it. She ran to the door and opened it, only to find Nice Nature and Maruzensky standing outside.
"Kagura-chan~ Good afternoon~ Got time right now?"
"I mean, I am free… Maruzensky-senpai, Nature—what's up? It's pretty rare to see you two doing something together. Why today—"
This pair didn't seem like the kind that usually came together, so Kagura couldn't help asking.
"Trainer Minamizaka told me to rest today. I had nothing to do, so I wanted to come play with you, Kagura—and then the trainer stuffed this box into my arms… said it's full of fun stuff."
As she spoke, Nice Nature lifted the box she was holding.
Maruzensky nodded and patted Nice Nature on the shoulder.
"My trainer said no training today too. I figured I'd come find someone to hang out with, but Rudolf went off to take a nap, so I could only come over to you, little girl. Then I saw Nature standing outside your door."
"Ehehe… so, Kagura, wanna play with us?"
"Sure. Come in first and we'll talk~"
Since Nice Nature had brought "fun stuff," Kagura didn't mind finding something to do on a lazy afternoon. She didn't know what they'd end up playing, but leaving them waiting in the hallway wasn't great, so she let Maruzensky and Nice Nature in.
The moment they entered, they immediately noticed Bizen Nishiki—leaning on the lounge chair, her cheeks flushed in a way that looked a bit unnatural. Seeing two people she wasn't familiar with, Bizen Nishiki—usually pretty easygoing—didn't know why, but she seemed shy about speaking. She only smiled and gave them a small wave.
"G-good afternoon, you two?"
"Oh my… you must be that student. I think I've heard of you—you're the one they say is closest to Rudolf as a rival, right?"
Even though neither of them had met Bizen Nishiki before, both Nice Nature and Maruzensky had heard about her from elsewhere. For one thing, Bizen Nishiki was a current hot topic, and Rudolf was famous enough that anyone near her had plenty of name recognition in the academy. For another, Kagura's friendly match with Bizen Nishiki had spread widely around campus, to the point that even Nice Nature—who didn't usually pay attention to that stuff—knew about it.
"Ah… I wouldn't go that far. Not at all. Rudolf is far stronger than me… But I should introduce myself. I'm Bizen Nishiki, from the senior division. It's nice to meet you."
"I'm Nice Nature! It's great to meet you, Bizen Nishiki-senpai!"
"Hehe~ I'm Maruzensky—Rudolf's teammate. Nice to meet you."
"Mm~!"
For some reason, Bizen Nishiki felt like the two of them kept curiously sizing her up. But she thought of herself as a perfectly ordinary girl—she didn't see what was worth staring at for that long.
"By the way, Nature—what's in that box?"
"Trainer Minamizaka said there were some board games and cards and stuff. And with Bizen Nishiki-senpai, we've got four people now—want to try playing Truth or Dare? Looks like there's a set for it in here!"
"Oh my~ A game that interesting? Sounds good to onee-san~"
Maruzensky agreed without hesitation. Nice Nature thought for a moment and nodded too. Bizen Nishiki looked a little timid, but after a brief hesitation, she agreed as well.
As for Kagura, it wasn't like she'd never played things like this before. And playing with a bunch of students wasn't exactly hard to get into. Besides, looking like a little kid meant she could do plenty of things she'd never have dared to do before. After thinking it over, she agreed to Nice Nature's suggestion too.
They sat down on Kagura's absurdly large bed. Nice Nature took out a deck of cards. The rules were simple: draw a card. Whoever drew the joker "won," and had to do either Truth or Dare.
——Oh, this is fun! Young people really do know how to find entertainment!
Eclipse only needed to hear the rules to know the good stuff was coming. Looking at the message left on Kagura's phone screen, Kagura could practically see Eclipse on the side, cracking sunflower seeds and watching the drama.
Counting cards and tracking the deck would be kind of bullying kids… forget it. Just playing normally is fine.
Seeing it was a standard deck made a few dark ideas pop into Kagura's head, but after thinking about it—she was just playing with kids. It wasn't like they'd make her do anything that required staking her dignity on it. So Kagura decided not to use any little tricks.
…
"Ooh looks like Kagura-chan hit the jackpot again? Go on Truth or Dare?"
Maruzensky watched Kagura with a smile. Kagura looked down at the joker in her hand and could only marvel at how "lucky" she was today.
Besides Maruzensky—who gave off a very "I've been planning this" vibe—Bizen Nishiki also looked a little eager, and Nice Nature was visibly itching to get involved. Kagura looked at the three of them, thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Truth. Who's asking—one question each, or taking turns?"
"Let's take turns! Starting with Nice Nature, and then clockwise?"
Maruzensky suggested with a smile. Kagura didn't really care, so she nodded. The other two Umamusume shot Maruzensky grateful looks.
Having earned the right to ask first, Nice Nature was thrilled—but when it came time to actually speak, she didn't know what to ask. She had so, so many questions for Kagura, and most were things she never dared ask normally. But with the game as an excuse, she could be a little bolder.
"Then… I'm starting! Kagura, can you tell everyone who your best friend is?"
After thinking for a moment, Nice Nature finally asked what she was most curious about. The other two Umamusume's ears twitched as they looked over with interest.
"Best friend? Of course it's you, Nature~ You were my first friend, after all~"
Kagura barely hesitated before answering, like the answer had been decided in her heart ages ago. She replied so fast there was hardly any room for a lie, and Nice Nature's whole face instantly turned red.
Maruzensky wore the grin of someone enjoying the show, and Bizen Nishiki half-covered her mouth with her hand and sleeve, laughing quietly.
"What's with that face~? Nature, why do you look so shocked?"
"N-nothing! I-I… let's keep going!"
Nice Nature waved her hands frantically and passed the deck back to Maruzensky, who was in charge of shuffling and dealing.
"Huh? Why am I the one again?"
Staring at the joker that had shown up in her hand again, Kagura scratched her head in confusion. She didn't think her luck was supposed to be that bad.
Seeing Bizen Nishiki looking nervous but also a little expectant, Kagura figured she should give her more of a chance to participate—help her loosen up and get along better with Kagura's two friends. So Kagura asked her:
"Bizen Nishiki, would you rather hear a truth, or see a dare?"
"Huh?! Kagura, you mean… you're giving the choice to me?!"
Bizen Nishiki's first instinct was to say she wanted Kagura to sit in her lap so she could pet her a little, but considering it was her first time playing—and she didn't want to put Kagura in an awkward spot—she ultimately decided not to make her do any kind of dare.
"Th-then… Kagura, do you have someone you like?"
"Whoa…"
Maruzensky let out a small gasp. Her first reflex was that there was good gossip coming—until she realized the question was aimed at Kagura. And then she figured… what could you even get out of a twelve-year-old? What did a kid that age know about "liking" someone?
Ah, the classic question. Should I do a bit for these kids?
For some reason, Kagura remembered a famous line she'd heard from a bestie back in the day. She figured she could use it as a "kid" too.
"Yeah~ I like Bizen Nishiki—"
"Huh?!"
Bizen Nishiki blurted out in shock, her expression turning flustered in an instant. Kagura couldn't help finding it funny—this girl was so innocent that even a joke like this made her nervous.
"—and everyone else! Everyone around me, I like them too!"
"Pfft…"
Maruzensky finally lost it and turned away, covering her mouth as she snickered. Nice Nature, who'd been sitting there with her mouth open at the answer, nearly coughed up a lung and had to pat her chest to recover. Bizen Nishiki, realizing she'd asked a twelve-year-old a dumb question, flushed bright red and let out a long sigh.
What am I even asking… Kagura's still so little…
"Uh… wait, why is it me again?"
On the third round—right after the shuffle—Kagura drew and saw that familiar joker once more.
She glanced at Maruzensky, who was still smiling, then recalled the little hand movements she'd noticed earlier. Kagura realized what was going on. After all, Maruzensky had been the one shuffling and dealing the whole time.
Kagura rolled her eyes at her.
"Senpai… that's mean."
---
T/N: 4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, i was too focused on something elseeeeeeeeeeeee ive been playing 7daystodieeeeeeeeeee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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