The next morning, Fujiwara Chiya put on a pale-blue top, a plaid skirt, and knee-high socks. He slipped on his ear accessories, fixed them in place over his head, then fastened the uma musume tail around his waist.
Standing in front of the mirror, he gave himself a long, hard look.
And thus, a tall "black-haired uma musume" was born.
Fujiwara Chiya brushed his bangs aside, staring at the medium-length hair that had almost caught up to Shirayuki's back in the day.
There was no awkwardness at all.
None.
Fujiwara Chiya was absolutely certain that as long as he was not standing there completely exposed, no one would be able to tell whether he was a man or an uma musume.
Habit really was terrifying.
Because of habit, Shirayuki had picked up soft, kitten-like mannerisms. Because of habit, Fujiwara Chiya had taken an uma musume uniform from the closet and put it on with frightening smoothness.
His old trainer uniform had been confiscated by Grass Wonder. Now his wardrobe was packed with girls' uniforms one size larger than Shirayuki's. There were even more types than Shirayuki had owned!
Looking at the clothes, Fujiwara Chiya felt a deep melancholy settle over him.
He just wanted to finish racing as soon as possible and end his student life as an uma musume.
Today, he had promised to go out with Kitasan Black, so if he was already dressed like this, then so be it. There was no real need to change back into men's clothing.
"Trainer…"
After Fujiwara Chiya finished changing, Orfevre woke up. She slowly turned her head and looked at him, sunlight spilling across her bare shoulders, giving her pale skin a soft glow.
She hugged the blanket to herself, covering her chest, and sat up with her legs drawn together in a slightly awkward posture.
"Are you heading out?"
"Yeah."
"I would like to go too, but… I am not exactly fit for movement right now."
"If it hurts that much, maybe don't push yourself next time."
"I simply have not adjusted yet. Once I do, I think it will be rather pleasant." Orfevre puffed out her cheeks and glared at him. "You enjoyed yourself too, did you not? You seemed even more enthusiastic than before."
"That was…" Fujiwara Chiya scratched his head.
Seeing him flustered, Orfevre's lips curved into a smug smile.
"I felt it again. That sensation of spending the night with you. Painful, yet wonderful. I would like to continue sharing that with you in the future."
Watching his wives gradually grow more interested in inventing new ways to spend time together, Fujiwara Chiya could only let them do as they pleased.
"I shall not see you off. I need more sleep. Trying something new for the first time truly is exhausting… though I am happy." Orfevre yawned, rolled over, and rested a hand on Shirayuki.
After pressing a kiss to Shirayuki's soft neck, Orfevre wrapped around her like she was a body pillow and closed her eyes again.
Fujiwara Chiya left the room and greeted his uma musume as usual.
Agnes Tachyon set down her black tea, leaned in, and kissed Fujiwara Chiya on the lips, passing the taste to him. Mejiro Dober, meanwhile, carefully fixed his hair again.
"Trainer, the Mejiro family is holding a banquet in a few days. We'll all go together then."
"Is that really okay?"
"It's fine. Mother has already stopped minding."
Because of this not-quite-married-but-basically-wife relationship, Mejiro Dober had caused no small amount of controversy in the Mejiro family. Still, with Fujiwara Chiya's promise, Mejiro Dober had managed to move in with him.
Even so, as a young lady of the Mejiro family, her act of practically giving herself away for free had still left the family extremely unhappy. Her relationship with them had become tense for a while.
But after all this time, her mother had finally accepted reality. So when the banquet came up, she specifically called Mejiro Dober and asked her to attend.
"What should I buy as a gift for my mother-in-law?"
"You don't need to. The Mejiro family lacks nothing." Mejiro Dober kept tidying Fujiwara Chiya's hair. "If there's anything she wants, I suppose it would be grandchildren."
"Grandchildren?"
"My children with Trainer." Mejiro Dober wrapped her arms around Fujiwara Chiya's neck. "When I bring our baby to meet Mother, she'll definitely be very happy. She's been calling me about it a lot lately. So, Trainer, you'll have to work even harder. Mother said she wants twins."
"That isn't something you can make happen through effort, is it?"
"Maybe not." Mejiro Dober smiled. "But if we try enough, maybe we'll end up with two little babies."
"…"
"My family sent over some supplements too. Trainer, make sure you eat plenty of them. I feel like you've been a little weaker lately."
"I've actually gotten a lot stronger."
"Is that so? Then I'll have to test just how strong Trainer has become."
Once his hair was done, Fujiwara Chiya headed downstairs.
Treve and Seiun Sky were preparing breakfast. The moment Treve saw Fujiwara Chiya, she came over with light, springy steps, looped her arms around his neck, and gave him a quick peck on the lips.
"Mmm. Black tea… Trainer kissed Tachyon already?"
"Yeah."
"What a shame. My first good-morning kiss got stolen just like that." Treve kissed him again.
"That's so mean, Fufu. Leaving the pot boiling just so you can flirt with Trainer? In that case, I'm abandoning breakfast too and going to kiss Trainer instead."
"I'm coming!"
After Treve hurried back, Seiun Sky wiped her hands and came over to Fujiwara Chiya.
"Morning, darling~"
"Morning." Fujiwara Chiya hugged her by the waist and patted her head.
"…"
"What's wrong? Did you get stunned by how cute Seii-chan is? Or are you regretting not coming to Seii-chan last night? That's fine, you know. Tonight, I'll give you a chance to make up for it. You can leave your body in Seii-chan's care."
Fujiwara Chiya ran his fingers through Seiun Sky's hair.
"It's gotten a lot longer than before."
The fluffy big cat from before now had hair that nearly brushed her shoulders. Somehow, it made her look even more sleep-inducing.
"Hehe. Seii-chan's hair grows pretty fast. Grandpa always used to say I was a wild child."
"Treve's seems to grow really slowly."
Fujiwara Chiya looked toward the tiny figure in an apron, bustling away in front of the cutting board.
Hearing that, Treve turned around. The short ponytail at the back of her head bounced twice.
"My hair has grown a lot too, actually. Gold Ship just keeps trimming it for me."
"Gold Ship knows how to cut hair?"
"She said, 'Leave it to me!' and then cut everything off. Honestly, it was kind of impressive." Treve patted the little ponytail behind her head. "Does Trainer like long hair? Shirayuki has long hair, after all."
"I think yours is perfect right now. Long or short, you're pretty either way."
"Hehe. Sweet talker, aren't you, darling~?" Treve rose onto her toes and winked at Fujiwara Chiya. "Just wait. In a bit, you'll get to enjoy my lovingly made breakfast."
"By the way, Trainer, are you going out?" Seiun Sky asked, looking at his outfit.
"I'm going out with Kitasan Black."
"I thought Trainer had finally become hopelessly addicted to being an uma musume and started wearing girls' clothes even on weekends. If that happened, our whole family would basically be uma musume."
"Don't you think this is all your fault?"
"Is it? What's wrong with an uma musume wanting to share her glory with her husband? Anyway, breakfast is ready."
Fujiwara Chiya sat at the dining table.
Rice Shower and Grass Wonder returned from grocery shopping and started putting things away. Tazuna Hayakawa and Gold Ship, who had been tidying up the garden, came inside too. They had also dragged in Matikane Tannhauser, who had happened to pass by during her morning run.
Gold Ship, wearing a wicked grin, had secretly carried the still-sleeping Akikawa Yayoi out and placed her on the sofa. When Akikawa Yayoi opened her eyes, Gold Ship leaned in and said,
"You're awake. The surgery was a success."
After a lively breakfast with everyone, Fujiwara Chiya said his goodbyes and headed to the meeting spot he had arranged with Kitasan Black.