We spent quite a while in Oguri's house. We shared all sorts of tales with White Narubi, from the adorable to the confusing, from the inspiring to the worrying. Oguri naturally held nothing back while talking to her mother, while I willingly shared my thoughts and worries about the future.
And though Narubi wasn't quite as familiar with the racing world as we were, she listened and understood. Because she was a mother, and no mother truly wanted their child to suffer.
In the end, as we were preparing to leave, she made us promise to her. Promise that we would run freely, chasing joy but knowing when to restrain ourselves.
Once we left Oguri's home, naturally, our next destination was my own home.
And of course,
The door to my house opened, and my father greeted me with a small grin. "So my baby girl finally brings back a girl…" He said, before playfully smiling. "I'm so proud."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah." I patted Oguri's head as I hummed. "Anyway, you've already met Oguri before." I smiled. "You better prepare. She'll raid your pantry until there's nothing left."
Oguri puffed up, clearly proud. "I can eat a lot!"
My father laughed freely. "Don't worry, we're locked and loaded." And as if to show some prized collection, he led us over to the nearby kitchen counter and opened it, revealing a massive pile of melon bread, piled together into a neat stack. My eyes popped wide open, and he grinned. "Why the surprise?"
"I think the question is why I shouldn't be surprised." I said back, more than baffled at the sight. After all, these store-bought melon bread could only last about a week before they went stale; they couldn't have stored this for too long. It meant that, somehow, he'd known that I was coming home soon.
…Ooh, I think I had an idea.
"It was our reservation, wasn't it?" I asked, and I sighed as I saw my father grin.
So that's it. Yesterday, Musaka had reserved my parents' izakaya for the entire night. They must've remembered Musaka's name from the last time he reserved the entire izakaya for us to celebrate our move to Central.
Sneaky, sneaky.
"Where's mom, by the way?" I asked. After all, it'd normally be my mother who greeted the door, and I hadn't seen her at all.
"She's at our izakaya." He said, smirking as he gave Oguri one of the melon breads. "Someone's gotta start preparing for the Beast, ain't that right?"
"So you're slacking." I said. My father shrugged, not denying the accusation.
Instead, he just silently handed Oguri another melon bread. "I can't help it. You know how your mother is when it comes to cooking." He had a helpless smile as he sat down by the dinner table. "She's completely absorbed; if I try to do something and accidentally interrupt her, she'll treat me like dirt and throw me away."
I raised an eyebrow. "You'd like that, won't you?" I snapped back as I gave Oguri another melon bread from the kitchen counter.
He laughed. "I love a woman that'll straight up kill me."
I scoffed. "Kill? Nah, mom's too nice for that." I smirked. "At best she'll just put you up for adoption." I added as I gave Oguri another melon bread.
He shook his head in faux regret. "Aiya, where did my sweet little girl go?"
"She never existed." I shot back.
He laughed again, and this time, I joined him.
This was how it always was, really. By Japanese standards, our household was a little special. My father was never afraid of being crass and open, and we traded barbs as easily as we breathed. Really, I suspected that my growing darkness was fostered by this man right here. After all, for what other reason would I experience such pleasure at teasing others?
But I liked it.
It was what had kept me alive, despite living with a heart that desperately yearned for the reverse.
I gently shook my head as I gave Oguri another melon bread. "Anyway, how're things going here, dad?" I asked, my expression turning somewhat serious for once. "No one's come to bother you or the town, right?"
It was an understandable worry, I'd say. Team Kitahara was the talk of Japan right now, and I wouldn't be surprised if some people got a little too nosy and decided to explore places they really shouldn't. After all, I'd seen it happen countless times to celebrities in my previous life—there was nothing stopping it from happening here too.
And seeing the way my dad's look became complicated, I had my answer. "So they did come." I said, sighing slightly.
Oguri finally stopped munching her melon breads when she heard that. "Eh? Does that mean mama also…?"
My dad sighed. "They did, yeah. But don't worry." He gave Oguri a reassuring smile. "We ain't that easy. Some reporters definitely tried going to your mother, but Hiraku-san and my wife are friends. They've kept them at bay."
Hiraku-san? That was…Belno's mother, I think.
Huh, so my parents were also friends with Oguri and Belno's parents. I guess that shouldn't really be all that surprising. Still, it was good to know that Narubi had friends she could rely on even as we continued on our journey through Central.
"Oh." Oguri said. "That's good." I smiled slightly as I handed Oguri another melon bread. "Ah, thank you." She said, and immediately resumed eating.
"So, how long are you all going to stay?" My father then asked.
I tilted my head slightly. "Two-, maybe three days?" I said. "Not really sure; it kinda depends." I grabbed a handful of melon breads and gave them all to Oguri. "Whatever the case, we'll need to be back in Tracen Central by the end of the week."
"So four days at most." He surmised. I nodded slightly, and he hummed.
I raised an eyebrow. "What?"
He smirked. "Just planning something."
I shivered. "Ugh, don't involve me." I said, and then quickly pulled Oguri into a side-hug, causing her to look at me in confusion. "And don't involve Oguri either. She doesn't need to be bothered."
"Right, right~" He drawled out, subtly smirking as he saw Oguri's tail discreetly wrap around my leg.
Ha, to think his daughter could bag the attention of the Beast herself. She definitely got that game from a certain someone!
While he was silently patting his own back, he also began secretly planning. He knew without a doubt that his daughter hadn't noticed. Well-, he supposed that wasn't quite right. Rather, it was that I didn't seem to register that there was anything strange about it.
It'd confused him and his wife from the start. She'd always been rather touchy from when she was young, but her penchant for casual skinship had grown ever since she and Oguri began racing together. Yet, despite his daughter being easily embarrassed, she'd never been embarrassed about that.
It was almost as if she'd long been used to such casual touches.
Nevertheless, he had four days on his plate, and he needed to make use of the time to try and get these two together. Or, at least if not together, to try and get one of them to make some sort of advancement. Seeing the two practically dancing around each other was making his scalp tingle.
"Stop looking at me like that." I quickly said with a scowl. "You look like a scoundrel."
"Kekeke…" He laughed eerily. "And what if I don't?"
"I'll kick you." I said, more than ready to borrow the signature move of a certain umamusume.
He rolled his eyes. "I've survived way worse, kid."
"Sure~"
As we continued our playful bickering, Oguri continued snacking on melon breads, completely lost in her own world of fluffy sweetness.