Rice Shower had a dream.
In that dream, Onii-sama had turned into Shirayuki.
Shirayuki looked at her with hurt in her eyes and told her how upset she was. Rice Shower had always been cold to Shirayuki. Worse, she had even personally handed Shirayuki over to Treve.
"So you never cared about me at all, Rice Shower."
Shirayuki's face twisted with sorrow.
Then, in the next instant, that face became Chiya's.
The two of them overlapped.
"No, Onii-sama! Rice didn't! Rice didn't mean to!"
Rice Shower shot upright, drenched in cold sweat.
She stared at the empty room, her breaths coming in ragged gasps.
Outside the window, the weather was bright and peaceful. She could faintly hear the voices of students drifting in from somewhere far away.
Rice Shower hugged her pale legs tightly and curled into herself.
Did Rice fall asleep?
Was everything she just experienced only a dream?
But where did the dream begin?
Was it the part where Shirayuki took her outside?
Or the part where Onii-sama looked so hurt?
Sweat rolled down her cheek and dripped onto her thigh.
Rice Shower stared blankly at the blanket.
Was it because Rice had been too mean to Shirayuki that she had a dream like that…?
She was jealous of Shirayuki.
Jealous of her beautiful face.
Her perfect figure.
Her gentle, lovable personality.
And most importantly, she was jealous of Shirayuki's relationship with Onii-sama.
To punish Rice for her jealousy, the heavens had sent her a nightmare.
Rice Shower began reflecting on herself.
She would never do anything bad again.
She would treat Shirayuki properly. She would stop trampling on Shirayuki's feelings and seriously try to become friends with her.
So…
Onii-sama, please don't hate Rice.
Click.
The door opened.
A white figure walked in. When Shirayuki saw Rice Shower sitting on the bed, her eyes lit up.
"Rice Shower, you're awake. You were sleeping so deeply."
Rice Shower stared at Shirayuki.
Then she blinked.
"It wasn't a dream!!"
…
Now Rice Shower was completely certain.
Shirayuki really was her Onii-sama.
He was playing the role of an uma musume while continuing his life as a trainer.
Outside, Rice Shower sat between Shirayuki and Chiya. A faint nervousness bubbled up inside her.
"Are you still angry, Rice Shower?" Fujiwara Chiya asked.
"…Angry? Why would Rice be angry?"
Rather, she was still afraid that Onii-sama might be angry.
After all, she had been ignoring Shirayuki all this time. Onii-sama must have felt terrible.
"I lied to you for so long."
"Onii-sama has Onii-sama's own difficulties. Living like this must be really inconvenient, right? Onii-sama endured it all alone in silence. Rice won't be angry at Onii-sama."
As expected.
Fujiwara Chiya had known Rice Shower would accept her.
Originally, he had planned to explain everything step by step, but that would have taken too much time. Shirayuki simply did not have that kind of free time, so in the end, they had decided to tell Rice Shower directly.
Rice Shower, unable to accept it at first, had cried her heart out.
But after sleeping for a while, her mental state had clearly improved.
It seemed Rice Shower's heart was still very much like a child's.
She got hurt quickly.
But she also recovered quickly.
Fujiwara Chiya stroked Rice Shower's head.
Beside her, Shirayuki also reached out and rubbed Rice Shower's ears.
Now that Rice Shower knew her identity, Shirayuki no longer had to act so timidly around her, right?
A little rua rua should be fine now, right?
Rice Shower's body trembled softly.
She glanced at Shirayuki, then at Chiya.
Only now did Rice Shower realize it.
The two of them really looked alike to an unbelievable degree.
Why had her silly little brain only noticed now?
Why had she never once thought that Shirayuki might be Chiya?
No, wait.
That was already beyond the limits of imagination.
Only someone with something seriously wrong with their head could possibly figure that out.
Any normal person would never believe that two people shared the same soul.
Even when the truth had been placed right in front of Rice Shower, she had still been half-convinced, half-doubtful, wondering if Shirayuki and Onii-sama were teaming up to trick her.
It was only after Shirayuki talked about the time when Rice Shower and Chiya first met, along with the words they had exchanged back then, that Rice Shower finally believed it completely.
In other words…
Rice had been fighting against the female version of Onii-sama all this time?
Why did it turn out like this…?
Thinking back on everything she had done, Rice Shower felt like she had been stupid beyond saving.
She wanted to travel back in time, smack her own tiny head, and make herself apologize to Onii-sama properly.
Quietly, Rice Shower lifted her head and looked at Shirayuki's face.
Gentle.
Beautiful.
Cute.
And somewhere beneath it all, she could faintly see that unique sense of reliability and handsomeness that belonged only to Onii-sama.
Rice Shower looked away and leaned a little closer to Fujiwara Chiya.
She believed that Shirayuki was Chiya.
She did believe it.
But how should she put it…
Believing was one thing. Accepting it emotionally was another.
If she had to call Shirayuki "Onii-sama" right now, the words definitely would not come out easily.
Rice Shower needed time to adjust.
"Rice… will do her best to think of Shirayuki as Onii-sama. And Rice won't do those things anymore."
She deeply regretted handing Shirayuki over to Treve.
Rice Shower did not know how far Shirayuki and Treve had gone.
If they had already reached the final step, then she might have to cry again right here.
"You don't have to think of her that way if you can't," Fujiwara Chiya comforted her. "I only wanted to tell Rice Shower this secret. I'm not trying to make Rice Shower change anything. You can call me Onii-sama, Shirayuki, or even Chiya. Whatever feels right to you. You don't need to worry about it."
He looked at Rice Shower's reddened eyes and smiled.
"I told Rice Shower my secret because I don't want to keep holding back around you either."
"I don't want to pretend to be someone else in front of Rice Shower. Whether I'm Shirayuki or Chiya, both are me. And Rice Shower is the same. Rice Shower will always be Rice Shower, my most precious little sister."
"Uwaaaaah! Onii-sama! Onii-samaaa!"
Rice Shower threw herself into Fujiwara Chiya's arms and burst into tears.
Shirayuki sat beside them and gently patted her head.
No one knew how long it took before Rice Shower finally calmed down.
Shirayuki took out a handkerchief and wiped Rice Shower's tiny nose.
Rice Shower's cheeks went red.
In a small voice, she said, "Thank you… Onii-sama."
"Shirayuki-senpai, something came up with the exchange students. They're looking for you."
"All right, I'll be there."
A member of the student council had come to notify her.
Shirayuki stood up.
"Then I'll go first. Rice Shower, Chiya will stay with you."
With that, Shirayuki ran toward the school building.
After Shirayuki left, Fujiwara Chiya hugged the little girl beside him.
"Let's walk around for a bit, Rice Shower."
"Mm…"
Holding Fujiwara Chiya's hand, Rice Shower wandered aimlessly through Tracen Academy, quietly sorting through her thoughts.
"Empress-sama!"
Rice Shower heard the students calling out.
"Shirayuki-senpai, could you teach me how to train?"
"Got it. Let me see how your training is going."
Shirayuki ran over to the group of little foals.
In an instant, everyone crowded around her, chatting away one after another.
"Shirayuki really is popular."
"Mm."
"But the one who's actually popular isn't Shirayuki. It's Onii-sama, right?"
"Well…"
"Onii-sama is an amazing trainer, and an amazing uma musume."
Watching Shirayuki at the center of the crowd, Rice Shower's eyes shimmered.
In the past, whenever she saw the popular Shirayuki, the only thing she felt was envy.
But now that she knew Shirayuki was her Onii-sama, Rice Shower's feelings had changed.
The white girl and the black-haired man overlapped.
The one who had earned the senior trainer badge was her Onii-sama.
The one who had conquered the European racecourses was her Onii-sama.
The one standing at the peak of all Japan's uma musume was her Onii-sama.
The one who had become student council vice president and managed more than half of Tracen Academy was also her Onii-sama.
Before she realized it, that envy had turned into pride.
Every one of those great achievements had been created by her Onii-sama.
The anxiety and pressure Shirayuki had once brought her vanished completely in that moment.
"Rice is Onii-sama's uma musume. Rice is Onii-sama's little sister. And at the same time… Rice is also Shirayuki's uma musume and Shirayuki's little sister."
Hearing that, Fujiwara Chiya rubbed Rice Shower's ears.
"You're also Shirayuki's classmate. And her rival."
"…Yes. Rice is Shirayuki's classmate. Shirayuki is Shirayuki, and also Onii-sama."
Rice Shower gazed at Shirayuki from afar.
Shirayuki turned her head and waved at Rice Shower.
"Is there anything you want to eat? We still have time anyway."
"Rice wants to eat crêpes."
"Sure. We'll go out and eat crêpes. And takoyaki too."
"Mm! Um… Onii-sama. When Rice went out with Shirayuki before, Rice ran back halfway. So… Rice wants to make it up to Shirayuki. Next time, can we go out together again?"
"Of course."
"Thank you, Onii-sama."
Rice Shower happily leaned against Fujiwara Chiya.
Although the secret Onii-sama had told her was a little beyond imagination, after thinking about it carefully, if there were two Onii-samas, didn't that mean Rice could receive double the happiness?
Rice Shower's thoughts gradually became clear.
Since Shirayuki was Onii-sama, Shirayuki was no longer an obstacle!
On the contrary, Shirayuki was someone she could cling to!
On one side was Onii-sama, gentle like a sweet wife.
On the other side was Onii-sama, reliable and handsome.
Just imagining a life together with both of them made Rice Shower tremble with excitement.
Didn't that mean the future was full of hope?
Two people meant double the joy!
Rice Shower had achieved enlightenment.
Meanwhile, in the trainer's office, Orfevre sat on the sofa.
She stood on the tips of her toes and folded her arms.
The cookies on the table had already been eaten, leaving Orfevre with nothing to do but boredly count the patterns on the sofa cover.
"So slow! Didn't Trainer say he would be back soon? How much longer does he intend to make me wait?!"