Am I… weak?
Ever since losing to Chiba, Kitasan Black had been stuck in a spiral of self-doubt.
That weekend, she went down to the riverside to practice singing. Whenever she felt down, singing always helped clear the fog in her chest. Her father was a singer, and Kitasan Black herself loved music more than almost anything.
But today, she wasn't the only one by the river.
Two uma musume were sitting along the bank, fishing rods in hand, leisurely casting their lines into the water.
One of them looked familiar, with green hair and a lazy air about her. The other, Kitasan Black knew very well.
It was the uma musume who had absolutely crushed her in the practice race.
Chiba.
"How peaceful, Trainer."
A soft, fluffy voice drifted into Fujiwara Chiya's ears.
"Yeah…"
"You finally came fishing with me, so why don't you look happier? Don't tell me you don't like hanging out with Sei-chan?"
"I do like it. I do, but why… why do I have to wear this on my day off?!" Fujiwara Chiya pointed at the fake ears on his head, while the tail behind him whirred like a runaway propeller. "You wanted to come out and play, fine! But why dress me up as an uma musume too?!"
"I was worried someone might recognize you while we were out."
"Recognize what? Even if I walked around as Chiya, nobody here would know."
"Ehehe. You caught me." Seiun Sky leaned closer with a shameless grin. "That's right, Trainer. Making you dress like an uma musume was purely for my own selfish amusement."
"Hah?"
"Come on, Trainer. Just imagining you getting all flustered in that outfit is fun enough, right? Honestly, after getting married, you barely blush anymore. Even when Sei-chan tries really hard to tease you, you don't even turn red. That's no fun at all. So I had no choice but to use the skirt."
As she spoke, Seiun Sky's hand slipped behind Fujiwara Chiya.
"Trainer, let me see your embarrassed face. That whole 'clearly wearing girls' clothes but desperately trying not to look suspicious' vibe is just way too interesting. It might even beat how awkward you were right after you and Shirayuki separated. Come on, show me."
"Don't, Sky. This is a public place…"
"It's fine, it's fine. I'll make it look totally innocent. One girl leaning on another girl's lap? Nobody would think anything of it."
"Did you ever consider what happens if someone we know—"
"Excuse me—"
"Eek!"
Fujiwara Chiya let out an embarrassingly girlish yelp and shoved Seiun Sky away at lightning speed, clamping both hands over his skirt.
Oh no. Oh no, oh no… the skirt moved!
He turned his head.
Standing there was one of Trainer Nase's uma musume.
Kitasan Black.
"Kitasan, hello. What brings you here?"
"I was just taking a walk and happened to run into you, Chiba-san. And… Seiun-senpai."
"Yo~" Seiun Sky waved like nothing had happened.
"Chiba-san and Seiun-senpai know each other?"
Seiun Sky was a famous uma musume at Tracen. With thirteen races and seven victories under her belt, her record was impressive enough to stand out even in a school packed with talent. On top of that, Kitasan Black had heard she lived in the home of that extremely famous Trainer, together with several outstanding uma musume, including the Empress herself.
At this point, everyone treated that place like some kind of sacred ground for uma musume.
"We…"
"Of course we know each other," Seiun Sky said, hugging Fujiwara Chiya from behind. "She's my adorable little sister."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Fujiwara Chiya and Kitasan Black reacted at the exact same time.
"You're Kitasan Black, right? I've heard your name from Chiba. She said you're a really strong, really hardworking kid."
"Ahaha… strong, huh?" Kitasan Black scratched her cheek.
She really didn't feel worthy of that word in front of Chiba.
"You're way stronger than Chiba was back then. Don't let how she looks now fool you. She used to be so weak and fragile."
"Eh?"
"That's right, little Kitasan. A few years ago, Chiba couldn't even lift a gate that weighed a few hundred kilograms. She couldn't move rocks weighing several tons either. Total weakling."
Listen to this.
Was that something a person should say?
Fujiwara Chiya was speechless. The worst part was, he couldn't even refute her.
Because Seiun Sky was technically right.
Back then, he had still been human.
"Really? Then that is… kind of weak," Kitasan Black said in surprise.
After all, she had been able to carry a starting gate when she was four.
"I used to be able to mess with her however I wanted. Sadly, now I'm the one who gets messed with." Seiun Sky kneaded Fujiwara Chiya's cheeks and let out an exaggerated sigh.
"I thought Chiba-san had always been this strong."
"Nobody is born strong," Fujiwara Chiya said.
He noticed the look in Kitasan Black's eyes and seemed to understand something.
"Everyone gets stronger one step at a time. A few years ago, whenever I ran with other uma musume, I was always dead last. Then, little by little, I became what I am now. If I count my training records, I probably lost several hundred times before I started winning."
Kitasan Black's eyes widened.
Several hundred losses?
Aside from that practice race against Chiba, Kitasan Black had never lost a race in her life.
That was way too extreme.
But maybe that was why Chiba felt so mature.
"What are you doing here, Kitasan?"
"I came to clear my head. And practice singing a little."
"Singing?"
"Mm. Chiba-san, do you want to hear?"
For some reason, after hearing that Chiba had lost so many times without giving up, and had instead climbed her way up little by little, Kitasan Black felt something warm stir inside her. The heavy feeling from losing to her suddenly loosened, and even the sky seemed brighter than before.
"I'd like to hear it."
"Then excuse me."
Kitasan Black cleared her throat.
"Aaaaaaaah～～～～～"
The moment that rolling, dramatic voice rang out, Fujiwara Chiya's eyebrows twisted together.
This… sounds like a festival song.
"I～～～will become～～the greatest uma musume of all～～～～!"
The song ended.
Kitasan Black turned to Fujiwara Chiya with sparkling eyes.
"How was it, Chiba-san?"
"…Excellent."
"Hehe."
She puffed up with pride.
"If you like it, Chiba-san, I can teach you how to sing too!"
"I'll learn when I have time…"
"Great! Oh, right, Chiba-san."
Kitasan Black walked up to him.
"Just like I sang earlier, I'm going to become the greatest uma musume. I lost to you this time, but in the future, I'll definitely beat you. So… will you be my opponent again?"
"Of course."
"Yay!"
Kitasan Black happily took his hand.
"I just noticed, Chiba-san. Your hands are really big."
"Are they?"
"Mm. They remind me of my father's. Whenever I felt down, he would comfort me with hands like these."
Looking at Kitasan Black's gentle smile, Fujiwara Chiya instinctively reached out and patted her head.
"Chiba-san?"
"Ah… Sorry. Force of habit."
"It's okay. We're rivals now, right? And I guess that means we're friends too."
"We are."
Kitasan Black smiled, then stepped forward and hugged him.
"Then I look forward to racing with you from now on."
"All right, all right, stop." Seiun Sky stretched out a hand between them. "Don't hug too tightly, little Kitasan. Otherwise, my little sister's dangerous secret might wake up and gobble you whole."
"Dangerous secret?"
"That's right. A big, scary secret. Very dangerous. If you get too close, you might be pierced straight through by it. It'll hurt so much you won't know what to do. Though after a while, you might get used to it and even start liking the feeling. But for now, that secret is being kept on a leash, so we can't let it run around wherever it wants."
"What…? That sounds really scary."
"It is scary. If it gets you, you'll end up shaped by the monster forever."
"Pierced through… and then I'll become… shaped by the monster…"
Kitasan Black clutched her chest and nervously swallowed.
"Sky! What nonsense are you teaching Kitasan?!"
"What's wrong, Mister Monster?"
"I'm not a monster!" Fujiwara Chiya snapped, still holding down his skirt.
"Does that mean Chiba-san is dangerous?"
"I'm not dangerous. I'm not dangerous at all."
"If it's just the two of you alone, it'll definitely be dangerous."
"Even if it's just two of us, it still won't be dangerous!"
Seiun Sky giggled.
"Hah…" Kitasan Black blinked in confusion, completely unable to understand what these two "sisters" were talking about.
"Come to think of it, I still haven't asked what Chiba-san is doing here."
"Fishing. You can join us."
"Oh, can I? There was a fish pond behind my family's place, so I used to fish there a lot when I was little."
"Then you're already an experienced fisher. We've got a spare rod."
"Then I'll join you. Thank you, Chiba-san."
"No problem."
"Aw~ If little Kitasan joins us, then Sei-chan won't get to enjoy the monster anymore."
"So what exactly is this 'monster'?" Kitasan Black asked, blinking her pure, innocent eyes. "You can eat it?"
"You're better off not knowing," Fujiwara Chiya muttered, silently hugging his own thighs.