Almond Eye was unhappy.
Not just a little. The seriously-unhappy kind.
Gotham Song hadn't expected the reason—and while it wasn't hard to tell Almond Eye was in a mood, she couldn't, for the life of her, figure out how it had gotten to this point.
Logically speaking, she hadn't done anything that would make Almond Eye upset, right?
And was Almond Eye even upset because of her?
Weird. Truly baffling.
She couldn't understand it. Not even a little. But Gotham Song was a grown ass Umamusume—she wasn't going to do nothing. She took Almond Eye to the snack street, hoping to soothe whatever fire was smoldering beside her.
It failed.
Completely.
Almond Eye still looked over with those deeply aggrieved eyes, like the snacks hadn't satisfied her in the slightest.
To be honest, Gotham Song had no idea why things had turned out like this—Almond Eye was probably the same, wasn't she?
She hadn't done anything wrong.
But in any case, the two of them walked the entire snack street and then drifted back onto the road toward the academy.
She couldn't keep dragging it out. If she did, she'd never get a clear answer.
With that thought, Gotham Song took a deep breath, organized her thoughts, and decided how to ask.
"Almond Eye? You seem… kind of unhappy."
"Unhappy…? Me, Trainer-sama? No, not at all! I'm absolutely not unhappy!"
Your face is basically screaming please comfort me.
So the little one had a pretty childish side too, huh?
Gotham Song looked up at Almond Eye's cheeks. They were puffed ever so slightly—like if you poked them, they'd deflate. But her mood wouldn't instantly fix itself with that, obviously.
Maybe Almond Eye had realized she was acting upset.
Maybe she hadn't.
Or maybe she didn't even know why she felt this way—or hadn't figured out how to face it yet.
Ah. So what exactly was Almond Eye so unhappy about?
It was hard to guess.
With that thought, Gotham Song gently took Almond Eye by the shoulders. The Umamusume in front of her looked confused for a beat, then crouched slightly so they were eye to eye.
What an unexpectedly considerate gesture.
Anyway. Say something. What should a mature racing Umamusume say here?
"Almond Eye, you worked really hard today. And with Teio—she's aiming for me too, so she isn't easy to beat."
Gotham Song rested her palm on Almond Eye's head, studying the girl in front of her.
Come to think of it, they'd been physically close before, but this was the first time she'd been this near—close enough to really look.
Almond Eye was different from everyone around her. She was the one who was truly, genuinely outgoing.
If anyone was even remotely comparable, it might be Tokai Teio.
But even Tokai Teio could suddenly get delicate on the inside. Almond Eye was completely different—she was sunshine in the literal sense.
At least, until today, Gotham Song had never seen her get this awkward and twisty. Though it was cute, in its own way.
In any case, that "girlishness" on Almond Eye fit perfectly with her confidence. She didn't have Tokai Teio's aggressive forcefulness, but her brightness was still impossible to ignore.
And why was Gotham Song thinking about this?
Because at this point, with Almond Eye so awkward she couldn't even identify her own feelings, was Gotham Song really still going to miss the reason?
She wasn't just a legendary Umamusume—she'd also lived a longer life than Almond Eye had.
Before, she'd failed to read people because she'd never expected the Umamusume world to be this wild.
But now—
If she still didn't think it through properly, she'd deserve to get locked in a basement somewhere.
"That still means I lost… and Trainer-sama…" Almond Eye muttered.
But the half-sentence she hadn't finished died in her throat, because Gotham Song suddenly pulled her into a hug, stroking her back in a steady, soothing rhythm.
"Really? What about me, Almond Eye?"
"N-nothing… um…"
Too nervous to speak properly? Seriously?
And… come to think of it—had my past self already guessed this was coming?
Damn it, past me. Why did you do that back then?!
—I'm at fault. Like you weren't?
Those words surged up in Gotham Song's chest, but she didn't say them. She just kept rubbing Almond Eye's back, then leaned in close and murmured in her ear.
"I know. Almond Eye's always been working really hard. But when everyone's working hard, time becomes the most important thing. Teio has a whole extra year of effort over you."
"So for Teio to only beat you by a sliver… that's something you can be proud of, okay?"
"No… that's not what I mean…"
What did I mean…?"
If this were a fairy tale, Almond Eye might've decided Gotham Song was a witch.
Because her hug really did have magic. Once it caught you, you didn't want to wriggle free.
Almond Eye finally understood, a little, why those "weirdos" in the odd news stories she'd seen reacted the way they did.
It was simple:
When you're prepared, the thing that finds you might not be the Grim Reaper.
It might be an accident.
And when something you never even dared to ask for wraps itself around you—who wouldn't accept it willingly?
This was the kind of thing you might've secretly longed for.
At least, when it came to Gotham Song's arms, Almond Eye only had one thought—
She was loving it.
Hehe. Trainer-sama's hug is so soft and warm. Somehow, once she holds me, every strange thought just vanishes completely. This is cheating. This is totally witchcraft, isn't it…?
Gotham Song couldn't see what was going on in Almond Eye's head, of course, but the fact that Almond Eye's mood had lifted was easy to spot. Gotham Song could tell at a glance: her team Umamusume had truly cheered up.
In that case, the hug hadn't been unnecessary.
Maybe, for the sake of her own peace and quiet, the "best" move would've been to do nothing and just drag Almond Eye back to the academy.
Maybe.
Gotham Song didn't deny it.
But—
If she really did that, it would go against her habits and her view of life too violently.
Leaving someone who needed help—someone she was close enough to interact with all the time—how heartless would she have to be to pull that off?
Gotham Song couldn't.
So she held Almond Eye in her arms—close, firm, unyielding.
Maybe it was the hug. Maybe Almond Eye had simply gotten her emotions under control.
Either way, she finally showed the smile Gotham Song hadn't seen all day—the same confident, brave smile as always.
Almond Eye's smile really was dazzling.
With her goal achieved, Gotham Song gently let go and stretched, letting out a big breath.
Honestly, outside of sleeping, she didn't hug other Umamusume that often.
Sleeping didn't count.
That was just her unconscious reaction after she'd fallen asleep. Even though her sleeping posture was supposedly quite proper, she had no idea why, whenever she slept with someone, she always woke up tangled in a heap.
According to everyone around her, Gotham Song was always the one who hugged first—like the moment someone slept beside her, her sleeping manners instantly became atrocious.
There was no way to verify it, of course. Gotham Song's sleep quality was excellent. Was it that she couldn't wake up early?
No.
It was that she blinked once, and it was already time for Gentildonna to wake her.
Sometimes even a small earthquake couldn't rouse her. Solid as a mountain.
Plus, she trusted the people around her.
Ardan-neesan and Neo Universe and Cafe-nee—how could they possibly team up to lie to Song?
Come on. Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
So even if Gotham Song doubted herself, she wouldn't doubt the other Umamusume.
Which meant she was completely convinced: yes, when she slept beside someone, her sleeping posture really did become a disaster.
Weird, huh?
Anyway, Gotham Song didn't actually like hugging that much—especially not with Umamusume she was close to.
But today, she'd treat it as a special case. There really hadn't been a better way to make Almond Eye feel better.
Sometimes you just have to do things.
Gotham Song raised her arms, one hand hooking behind her head to hold the other slender elbow, stretching as far as she could. Her flexibility was breathtaking, her body drawing an alluring, sculpted curve.
Almond Eye was watching at first.
Then she got lost in it—so much so that she unconsciously stepped closer.
But Gotham Song didn't hold the stretch for long. She lowered her arms and saw Almond Eye right in front of her—
A bad feeling rose in her chest.
Still, she kept her composure, cleared her throat lightly, and tugged Almond Eye's mind back.
Almond Eye, startled as if waking from a dream, hurriedly tried to look away.
Of course, looking away wasn't enough.
So clever Almond Eye instantly went for a double-pronged solution.
She changed the subject.
"Cough. Trainer-sama? I'm fine. I was just curious…"
"Can Trainer-sama handle Teio's running style?"
"Or rather… that level of it?"
Teio's running style…?
Gotham Song didn't want to keep tangling in the atmosphere from a moment ago, so she went along with Almond Eye's question and thought it through.
Ah. Teio's style—the one magazines and articles called the "Teio Step." The method where she ran at an extremely low center of gravity, achieving high speed while conserving stamina.
Yeah. That style demanded a lot of natural talent and physical prerequisites. If your body wasn't flexible enough, then truly—"running came with risk."
That's what overwhelming speed and power did. They made people lose themselves so easily.
Still… Gotham Song could handle the Teio Step.
Just compared to Tokai Teio's current level…
It was a bit tough.
Gotham Song sighed. She'd been using this kind of technique even back when she was Twilight Song/Ruka.
But although she'd been the one to "popularize" it to the world, she didn't actually use it that often anymore.
Most of the time, the "Ruka Steps" was something she treated as an explosive weapon—not something she maintained for an entire run.
Compared to Tokai Teio, who'd made "pressing down her center of gravity" her default running mode…
Tokai Teio had worked unbelievably hard. Hard enough that Gotham Song worried she'd end up overstraining her ankles again and causing another incident.
But according to what she'd privately asked Symboli Rudolf, Tokai Teio not only got regular checkups now—every single training plan was also calculated with strict precision. There was no way she'd push herself like she used to.
And that only made Gotham Song sigh even more.
From the moment Tokai Teio lost to her to now…
It was like her entire life had been poured into one thing:
Meeting Gotham Song on the track again.
And… revenge.
What a—
"If you mean Teio's level, then no, I really can't," Gotham Song said. "Compared to me, she's put in more work there… and her talent is better suited for it."
Better talent… yeah.
Teio-senpai really could fold herself up like a little ball. That level of flexibility was terrifying.
Almond Eye nodded, seriously accepting the answer.
But as she watched Gotham Song take her hand and lead her toward the academy, a thought—bold, ridiculous—rose in Almond Eye's head for no reason at all.
She had to admit it.
All she could think about was the beautiful curve she'd seen a moment ago—her "Trainer's" body, stretched to perfection.
For some reason…
She really wanted to roll Miss Song up into a ball… and "feel" that shape properly.
W-wait, Almond Eye.
Why are you thinking something so weird?!
That's terrifying!
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T/N: ?!
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