The sea breeze blew gently, and before anyone knew it, most of summer had already passed. A month and a half was not exactly long, but it was not short either. It was enough for the Uma Musume to grow used to the seaside environment. By now, they no longer had the same excitement they had when they first arrived. The various seaside activities had gradually become part of their daily routine.
On the weekend, Shirayuki went to town with Special Week. The two of them went around having fun and ate a huge meal at a buffet restaurant. On Wednesday, Grass Wonder pulled her to a café, where they chatted, drank tea, and ate desserts. They even ran into Mejiro McQueen midway. At night, Shirayuki would often go to the rocks by the beach. There, she could often see a green-haired figure lying with both hands behind her head, enjoying the remaining warmth of the stone with a relaxed expression.
Occasionally, Shirayuki would bring a fishing rod and fish with Seiun Sky for a while. When she got tired, she would lie on Sky's lap and sleep, then greet the next morning.
What surprised Shirayuki a little was that Seiun Sky always brought her back to the dorm instead of waking her and making her go back by herself. Was it because she could not bear to disturb someone who was sleeping? Since Sky was also someone who loved to nap, perhaps she understood how painful it was to have a good dream interrupted.
Maybe.
However, something was a little strange. Every time Shirayuki came back, there would be faint red marks on her arms and neck. She did not know how they appeared. Maybe Seiun Sky had pressed against her somewhere while carrying her back. Other than that, there was nothing unusual.
The one who had changed the most was probably Mejiro Dober.
Ever since Dober had said those things to Chiya, her closeness with Shirayuki had risen sharply. When they slept, they usually ended up on the same futon. When they bathed, they stayed close together too. Once, it even made Shirayuki's nose bleed again, causing her to faint.
That was simply how this body was. It accumulated heat easily. If she continuously received strong stimulation, her head would overheat.
Speaking of stimulation, this was probably her own problem. Originally, there had still been a vague boundary between her and Mejiro Dober, but now Fujiwara Shirayuki felt that invisible line was close to disappearing completely.
The others did not do anything especially unusual. What was worth mentioning was Meisho Doto. She slipped in the room and bumped into Agnes Tachyon's desk, knocking over the medicine that Tachyon had painstakingly prepared for half a month. The floor turned yellowish, and when Tachyon saw the scene, she collapsed onto the floor with blank white eyes, as if she had died. She did not move for half a day.
As expected of Doto. She stayed perfectly quiet when Tachyon's experiment began, then overturned everything right when the experiment was about to end.
Gold Ship thoughtfully covered Agnes Tachyon with a blue cloth and held a moment of silence beside her. Meisho Doto kept bowing and apologizing to Tachyon over and over again.
Overall, this summer training camp had been very memorable. It was the first time Shirayuki's team had gone on such a complete trip together, spending an unforgettable summer in the dorm.
"Shirayuki, I bought drinks."
Mejiro Dober walked barefoot across the sand, holding a medium-sized cup. Two straws were inserted into it, bending in the middle into a heart shape. It looked like the kind used by couples. Rather, it was exactly the kind used by couples. The paper slip that came with the drink even had "may you be together forever" written on it.
Fujiwara Shirayuki had already grown used to Dober doing things like this. Occasionally, she felt that she and Dober were so close it no longer looked normal. But then, some pairs of Uma Musume passing by would look at them and say, "You two have such a good relationship. I'm jealous."
They were already like this, yet people only called it "good." Because of that, Fujiwara Shirayuki could no longer tell what the standard for judging these things was.
Nothing much happened on Chiya's side. Usually, he stayed with Ryu and the others, playing cards or kicking a ball around. The trainers enjoyed the Uma Musume activities just as much as the students did. On weekends, he was sometimes invited out by Nase Fumino or Kiryuin Aoi, but there was not much to do in the area. Going out mostly meant wandering around without a clear destination.
The life of a student and the life of a trainer really were completely different. As her interactions with others deepened, Fujiwara Shirayuki could increasingly feel the difference between herself and Chiya. That difference was not only reflected in her own body, but also in the way others treated her.
Fujiwara Shirayuki bit the straw and drank together with Mejiro Dober. The milky drink flowed through the two bent straws and entered their mouths.
"Shirayuki, we'll be going back in another week," Mejiro Dober said.
"Mm. That went by really fast."
"Is there anything you want to do before we go back?"
Her purple eyes looked at Fujiwara Shirayuki with a burning gaze.
Shirayuki thought for a moment.
"The summer festival..." Fujiwara Shirayuki said. "I want to attend the summer festival."
That matched perfectly with what Mejiro Dober had been thinking.
If one had to talk about the end of summer, then of course it had to be the summer festival. The two of them would sit together on a bench, admiring the bright fireworks while eating candied apples.
Then Mejiro Dober would say, "Shirayuki, your candied apple looks delicious."
Shirayuki would hold it out and say, "Dober-Onee-chan, do you want to try it?"
Then Dober would say, "I mean the piece in your mouth."
The two of them would kiss, their mouths filled with the sweetness of candied apple.
That would be too perfect! It would be the most perfect ending!
Mejiro Dober covered her face, her cheeks slightly red. Just imagining that scene made her heart pound nonstop.
Finally, beneath a grand burst of fireworks, she and Shirayuki would open their eyes and look at each other tenderly. Was there anything more romantic than that? Surely not. That was how it always happened in shoujo manga.
"Spe-chan and the others probably want to go together too."
Crack.
The scene in Mejiro Dober's mind shattered again.
"Special Week?"
"Mm. If it's a summer festival, it's better if everyone goes together."
"Um... not just with me?"
"I want the festival to be lively. After all, this is a once-a-year summer. I want everyone to be together. Once we go back, everyone will become busy again."
Mejiro Dober felt a little uncomfortable. Compared with having a romantic moment with her, Shirayuki had chosen for everyone to go together. It was not that Dober could not accept it. As partners in the same team, spending the final moments of summer together was not a bad thing.
Still, she felt that all the fantasies she had just imagined were a little foolish.
"I understand. Then let's do it the way Shirayuki wants."
"Sorry, Dober-Onee-chan. Next time there's a chance, I'll go out with Dober-Onee-chan alone."
After making that promise, Fujiwara Shirayuki ran toward Special Week, calling out, "Spe-chan!"
Mejiro Dober drank alone. She looked at the straw Shirayuki had used, then bit down on it and lightly touched it with her tongue.
It was a little unfortunate. There was only one night like this in the whole summer, and Mejiro Dober had still hoped to leave behind a shining memory with Shirayuki. But some things could only be met by chance and not forced. She could not exactly tie Shirayuki to her side.
But just because the summer festival could not become a purely romantic outing did not mean she could not do anything else. Holding hands was still possible. Right, and yukata! How could she forget something so important? She needed to change into a beautiful yukata, one so beautiful that Shirayuki would not be able to look away from her.