"Does Shirayuki have a second pair of eyes or something? Or maybe some kind of special ability? Either way, she's definitely different from everyone else, right?"
Seiun Sky sat on the sofa, lazily swinging her feet.
"Every time Shirayuki races, I get that feeling. Like someone else is helping her watch the race. One person observing, one person making decisions…"
Fujiwara Chiya's heart gave a hard thump.
His eyes shifted to the green-haired girl curled up on the sofa.
Seiun Sky had noticed.
She had noticed something about Shirayuki that even Grass Wonder and the others had never picked up on.
Observing and deciding at the same time.
That was exactly what Chiya did.
"I think Trainer knows, right?" Seiun Sky's lips curved into an easy smile. "Shirayuki's little secret."
"No. Shirayuki has always been like that. Her senses are sharper than most people's, so it only looks like she knows everything."
"Trainer, you don't have to lie to Seii-chan like that. I can see right through you."
Her ears swayed gently.
Seiun Sky was far more sensitive to lies than most people. One glance was enough for her to guess most of what Chiya was thinking.
"It must be an amazing secret, right? If Shirayuki wanted to know something about me, I'd definitely tell her. Because I trust Shirayuki. She's my best friend." Seiun Sky blinked at him, still smiling. "Of course, the same goes for Trainer Chiya."
"Even if you say that, it's not like you actually have anything to tell me, do you?"
"Trainer, girls have plenty of secrets."
"For example?"
"For example, the color of my underwear."
"...That counts?"
"For the current Seii-chan, that's already my biggest secret. What girl would casually tell someone about something that private? Unless, of course, that person was someone she cared about." Seiun Sky paused, then added without a hint of shame, "By the way, today's are white. Pure white. Nothing fancy."
"Why did you actually say it?"
"This is my trust in Trainer. I know that even if Trainer finds out, you won't tell anyone. You'll keep it quietly tucked away in your heart."
Seiun Sky tilted her head against the sofa. Her blue eyes stared straight at Fujiwara Chiya.
"Why are you saying all this, Sky? I don't think I've ever done anything to make you care about me that much…"
"Trainer, do you remember the first time we met?"
Seiun Sky's voice softened, loose and nostalgic.
"The two of us were in the back garden…"
Back then, Chiya had been at Tracen for less than a week. He barely knew his way around the academy and got lost more often than he cared to admit.
That was when he found Seiun Sky sleeping in a flowerbed.
At first, he thought someone had collapsed or gotten hurt, so he rushed over in a panic. Only after getting closer did he realize she was simply sleeping.
"Isn't it dangerous to sleep outside?"
"It's fine, it's fine. Nothing's going to happen. Or is Trainer worried someone might try something with me?"
That had, in fact, been exactly what Chiya was worried about.
At the time, Fujiwara Chiya's overdeveloped sense of responsibility as a trainer had made him completely forget the difference between humans and uma musume. He had genuinely been concerned for Seiun Sky's safety.
And when she looked ready to keep sleeping right there, Chiya said he would sit beside her and rest until she woke up and left.
Who could have guessed that he would end up waiting four whole hours?
At some point, Chiya himself grew drowsy and lay down without realizing it.
When he opened his eyes again, his head was resting on Seiun Sky's lap, and she was smiling lazily down at him.
"You slept really soundly, Trainer."
That was how Fujiwara Chiya and Seiun Sky first met.
One uma musume napping in a flowerbed, and one trainer who somehow ended up falling asleep beside her.
"From that day on, I thought it," Seiun Sky said with a smile. "Trainer Chiya is someone I can trust."
"What part of that made me trustworthy…? Besides, if I'd known you were a repeat offender, I wouldn't have bothered."
"Don't say that, Trainer. You enjoyed it too, didn't you? Back then, Seii-chan was always looking for a trainer who could nap with her." She sighed dramatically. "What a shame. We were connected by fate, but not by destiny. If only Trainer had been a little more proactive."
After that, the two of them often met beside the flowerbed.
Fujiwara Chiya would occasionally bring Seiun Sky some snacks. Once she finished eating, she would curl up comfortably and take a nap, while Chiya headed off to the track to train his own uma musume.
They had become close.
Familiar, even.
But they never became trainer and assigned uma musume.
The reason was simple.
Fujiwara Chiya had no more room.
He already had enough uma musume under his care. He did not have the energy to take on another one. Back then, he had only just started working as a rookie trainer.
So in the end, Fujiwara Chiya never invited Seiun Sky.
All he could do was chat with her, slack off with her, and leave things as they were.
Looking back now, perhaps that had been the right choice.
Kiryuin could draw out Seiun Sky's abilities better. She also had more experience raising Front Runners. For Seiun Sky, Kiryuin was a good place to belong.
"You missed your chance with me. That's your regret, Trainer."
"I can't deny that."
"Seii-chan was waiting back then, you know. Waiting for Trainer Chiya to invite me." Seiun Sky hugged the sofa cushion tighter. "I waited and waited, and a whole year passed. In the end, I never got to hear it."
Fujiwara Chiya froze slightly.
"Even when I took the initiative and invited you, you rejected me."
"Did you?"
"Trainer forgot?" Seiun Sky puffed her cheeks a little. "Back then, Seii-chan said, 'If Trainer Chiya has this much free time, would you be interested in becoming my trainer?'"
Fujiwara Chiya remembered.
But at the time, he had thought Seiun Sky was joking.
After all, she had said it while eating, in that casual, airy tone of hers. And Chiya's response had been so painfully lacking in emotional intelligence that remembering it now made his scalp prickle.
"I'm only here to slack off with you for a bit. I'm actually very busy. I have to go train soon."
...Yeah.
That was awful.
"Although it's a shame, Trainer Chiya is still the person I trust most." Seiun Sky's voice was light, but the words were not. "I don't know where I rank in Trainer's heart, but I'm sure it isn't very high."
Fujiwara Chiya said nothing.
He had always treated Seiun Sky casually. Too casually.
He had never imagined that this very casualness had made Seiun Sky grow so fond of him.
Seiun Sky rolled over and leaned against the sofa.
"If what Seii-chan said just now can raise my ranking in Trainer's heart even a little, then I hope that one day, Trainer and I can be honest with each other."
After saying that, Seiun Sky hugged the cushion and peacefully fell asleep.
Still the same as ever.
No matter where she was or what she was doing, she could drift off in a matter of seconds.
Fujiwara Chiya picked up his coat and draped it over her. Then he sat down beside Seiun Sky.
How should he put it?
What she had said left him feeling unexpectedly emotional.
Seiun Sky was an uma musume he had once been forced to give up because of his own lack of ability.
Back then, Fujiwara Chiya had assumed Seiun Sky had already found her assigned trainer. After all, several trainers had invited her before.
So she had rejected all of them…
And in the end, it was Fujiwara Chiya's own words that cut off Seiun Sky's feelings completely.
After that, she turned around and signed a contract with Kiryuin.
Fujiwara Chiya reached out and gently stroked Seiun Sky's hair.
She lay there on the sofa, lazy and relaxed, like a large cat.
Consider this my apology for making you wait so long.
Fujiwara Chiya lowered his voice and said softly,
"Actually, I am Shirayuki's second pair of eyes."