When the sky had barely brightened the next day, Gotham Song found herself unable to sleep at all.
Why?
Probably because Vernal Equinox had hugged her a bit too forcefully in her sleep? Anyway, Gotham Song woke up very early, and after waiting patiently until Mejiro Manor slowly stirred awake as well, finally set her feet on the ground and started to wash up and change, preparing for today's agenda.
Going to watch Satono Diamond's race, huh… Honestly speaking, this really was the first time.
On the one hand, it was because Satono Diamond was still in her new-horse year; on the other hand…
It was Satono Diamond, after all.
From their very first encounter, Gotham Song had already felt considerable fear towards Satono Diamond—not to mention everything else that had happened later, as well as after fully realizing just how chaotic relationships among Uma Musume in this world could become.
But after experiencing so much, Gotham Song had somehow become somewhat stronger.
Well, at least stronger in this aspect, perhaps.
In any case, Gotham Song and Vernal Equinox didn't take a car in the end, but instead chose to board the train together.
As the very pinnacle of Japanese high society, Mejiro naturally ensured Mejiro Manor was conveniently located in every way. They could reach the train in less than ten minutes after stepping out the door—
The station itself was even straightforwardly named "Mejiro Manor," making one wonder if it had been built specifically for this estate.
And what strengthened Gotham Song's belief in this fact even more was that, for residents like them from Mejiro Manor, there wasn't even any security check at the "Mejiro Manor" station…!
All one could say was: as expected of prestigious Uma Musume families. Speaking of which, train security across all of Japan was rather lax towards Uma Musume… In a certain sense, it was really fortunate for society that an old bastard like Sunday Silence no longer possessed a physical body.
Old Bastard, please just sacrifice yourself a bit for society's safety, won't you?
Stepping onto the train, the carriage was empty with barely anyone aboard, and seeing this, Gotham Song immediately wanted to lie down on her side.
After all, she'd woken up far too early and clearly hadn't gotten enough sleep—
Just at this moment, though, Vernal Equinox suddenly grabbed Gotham Song's hand, stood up, moved over to the other side, and then invitingly patted her thigh.
"Trainer, want to sleep a bit? Then come sleep on my lap."
"Uh… well, alright then… so I'll really do it, okay?"
For a moment, Gotham Song felt confused and hesitant; she hadn't expected something like this to happen.
Although she'd certainly sprawled across empty train seats to nap before, those were distant memories from when she'd still been in another world, always just using her arms as pillows underneath her head. But now, with this new identity and entirely new bonds, the treatment she received was completely different from before…
Still, this actually seemed quite nice? No, not just nice—it seemed like lying on Vernal Equinox's thigh would feel wonderful. And her own Uma Musume didn't show even the slightest bit of reluctance… Rather, wasn't it more like…
She really, really wanted Gotham Song to do this?!
"Th-then, here I come, Vernal-chan… Please excuse me."
She was truly sleepy after all, and so Gotham Song finally gave in, lying down sideways onto Vernal Equinox's lap. And under the gentle sensation of Vernal Equinox softly stroking her hair for reasons unknown, Gotham Song closed her eyes in drowsiness, quickly falling into deep sleep as the train gently rocked back and forth.
Then, when Kitasan Black—who hadn't seen her younger sister for quite a while—boarded the train, she was greeted by a scene that could not be easily described with words.
What exactly was the appropriate way to describe Kitasan Black's feelings upon witnessing this sight?
In short, it was very confusing, very bewildering, and extremely… incredibly shocking beyond description?
The train had traveled quite a distance already, so naturally, it was no longer as empty as when Gotham Song and Vernal Equinox had boarded. Now, in the somewhat noisy carriage, Miss Gotham Song was actually peacefully sleeping, her head resting comfortably on Kitasan's own younger sister's lap.
As for why the noisy environment hadn't woken her up?
Because there were clearly two pale-pink earphone cords extending from beneath Miss Gotham Song's ears, belonging obviously to Kitasan's younger sister. If Kitasan Black remembered correctly, these should have been gifted by Miss Gotham Song herself to her younger sister some time ago.
Obviously, this must have been done by her younger sister after Gotham Song had fallen asleep, probably to keep her from being disturbed…
Actually, up to this point, the whole thing wasn't exactly too hard to accept. Even though her sister usually appeared somewhat dim-witted, precisely because of that dim-wittedness, she wouldn't be particularly resistant when it came to lap-pillow requests.
But the truly unbelievable thing for Kitasan Black wasn't the lap-pillow itself.
It was the fact that her younger sister, Vernal Equinox, while gently stroking that silky silver hair, actually wore a faint, tender smile on her lips.
She was smiling—small yet gentle, warm, and… happy.
That was what Kitasan Black found utterly inconceivable.
Heavens knew, in the decade or so she'd been an elder sister, Kitasan Black had rarely seen her younger sister smile so genuinely. It wasn't even just a huge shock—it was basically on the level of the Great Tokyo Earthquake!
And the things that Kitasan Black found even harder to comprehend were actually just beginning!
Due to boarding from different stations, the three naturally boarded the train at entirely different times. Kitasan Black had gotten on at Japan Central Tracen Academy station, and upon boarding, she naturally approached the spot where her younger sister and Miss Gotham Song were.
In truth, this train route had always been fairly spacious with plenty of empty seats. And so, under these circumstances, when Kitasan Black approached and was just about to sit down, she suddenly met her younger sister's abruptly raised gaze—eyes carrying an expression that could vaguely be described as "fierce."
Almost like… guarding her food, wasn't it?
That moment when their eyes met and everything became clear, Kitasan Black's heart fell into complete confusion and complexity. She herself had no idea how to describe it—seeing her own younger sister finally displaying the emotions she ought to have was surely a good thing. But for her to show such feelings towards someone outside their family…
In various meanings, it really was extremely delicate.
However, that fierce look lasted only an instant. Once Vernal Equinox clearly saw it was her own sister approaching, she returned immediately to her original, utterly harmless self, quickly soothing Kitasan Black's nerves.
"Miss Gotham Song seems to be sleeping so soundly…"
Perhaps influenced by the atmosphere, or perhaps just obeying her inner voice, Kitasan Black spoke in a very quiet tone. Vernal Equinox's smile grew even warmer at this.
"Trainer-sama is always so reliable, but now it's her turn to rely on me."
"Relying on Vernal-chan…"
No matter how I look at it, these aren't words the old Vernal-chan would say at all…!
But Kitasan Black was wise enough not to voice this thought aloud. She leaned back into the seat of the train carriage, pushing away any strange feelings in her heart.
Well, forget it. This story belonged solely to Miss Gotham Song and her little sister. How far it would go wasn't something someone uninvolved like herself should comment on, right?
Rather, being able to stay by Miss Gotham Song's side itself was no simple matter… Her younger sister had already become a rather exceptional Uma Musume, in many ways.
...
Thus, when Gotham Song woke up, the first thing she saw was the brilliant sky outside—the uniquely pleasant sensation of sunlight gently brushing her cheek as the train glided through the city—as well as Vernal Equinox, who gazed down tenderly at her, and Kitasan Black with an inexplicably complicated look on her face.
…So weird. Why do you two sisters' expressions combined have like fifty layers of hidden meanings?!
Even stranger is the fact that I can't understand even one of your expressions!
Gotham Song felt puzzled. She twitched her ears slightly, removing the pale pink earphones, then reached up and lightly squeezed Vernal Equinox's cheeks.
"When Kitasan boarded, you should've woken me, right? Speaking of which, me resting here didn't prevent other passengers from having seats, did it?"
"Not at all, Trainer-sama. Besides, it was my sister who told me not to wake you. Right, Onee-chan?"
"Ah…y-yeah, it was me who said that, haha… After all, Miss Gotham Song, you seemed so sound asleep."
Gotham Song suspiciously glanced at Kitasan Black. For some reason, this junior, whom she hadn't seen in quite a while, seemed remarkably unnatural at this moment—almost as if she was forcing herself into doing something she wasn't good at.
But after turning the thought over in her mind without reaching any conclusion, Gotham Song decided to give up pondering. She sat up and stretched out lazily, her body extending to the point that her shirt—which wasn't particularly short to begin with—rose, briefly exposing her pale waist as the girl completed her motion.
Even squeezing out a tear from Gotham Song's eyes!
"Anyway, we're almost at the racetrack, right? Let me see... It seems like we have one stop left—just one stop left?!"
"Vernal-chan, you should have woken me up earlier! What if we'd arrived and I still hadn't woken up?"
"Then…you'd just stay asleep?"
…?
What?
"What I mean is, I'd wake you up properly when the time came, Trainer-sama."
Kitasan Black stayed silent beside them. She had just realized something subtly terrifying.
Vernal-chan… when you say "wake her up," you mean before we reach the station, right? While we're still on the train? You didn't mean you'd carry Miss Gotham Song all the way into the venue and only wake her at the last second, right?
Surely not, right, my dear sister?!
In any case, Kitasan Black kept her mouth shut, and the three stepped into the racecourse together, arriving just in time to witness this match.
Without question, as the eldest daughter of the Satono family, Satono Diamond—though not the absolute strongest Uma Musume of her generation—was indeed powerful enough that she was the clear favorite for today's race.
In fact, most spectators were here specifically for the famed Uma Musume Satono Diamond herself.
But there wasn't much difference for Gotham Song and Vernal Equinox; they were merely here to watch the race.
Since this was a race in the new-horse year, there wasn't any grand pre-race parade like in the Japan Cup. Instead, the runners simply took their positions directly on the presentation stage before heading towards the starting gates.
As expected, when Satono Diamond stepped onto the stage, she received unprecedented cheers, her reception loud enough to overshadow all other competitors combined. But amidst all that adoration, her gaze remained firmly locked onto one direction.
Big Sister Song is here, huh… Hehe, seems like I have a good reason not to lose today. Sorry, my dear opponents.
Ah, Kitasan's here too, hehe.
After the race started, everyone in the stadium witnessed clearly what terror and invincibility truly meant. Satono Diamond displayed unprecedented strength, effortlessly leaving every opponent impossibly far behind.
Everyone present started speculating—what exactly had happened to Satono Diamond to let her perform so far beyond her usual abilities?
Nevertheless, she easily defeated all her opponents, once again adding a perfect victory to her new-horse year record.
This performance rather surprised Gotham Song. Although it hadn't been necessary, she had briefly imagined various possibilities for how Satono Diamond's race might unfold beforehand.
But she hadn't expected her to win…this effortlessly?
Without even breaking a sweat. I can only hope Diamond-chan's opponents today won't develop lifelong psychological scars…
After all, Satono Diamond running like this looked more like a beast trying to tear her opponents apart—her ferocity was unimaginable.
After the race came the customary interview session, but this time, Satono Diamond made an announcement nobody could have predicted.
Near the end, she declared that she wouldn't participate in today's Winner's Concert—and her tone was even matter-of-fact enough to say, "So what?"
When Gotham Song heard this, she instantly realized what was about to happen next.
As soon as Satono Diamond stepped down from the stage, even without escaping the flashing lights of cameras, she ran straight towards them, squeezed right between Kitasan Black and the others, and immediately hugged Gotham Song's arm, sandwiching her along with Vernal Equinox on both sides.
Gotham Song's mouth twitched, and she helplessly forced an awkward smile.
You two together are almost three times my height… Hugging me from either side like this, seriously…
I'm practically being lifted off the ground by you two. Don't you get tired having to bend down so much?!
You don't get tired, huh?!
Your waists are just that good?!
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