That was what family was supposed to look like.
After saying all that, Kitahara didn't say anything more to Tamamo Cross. After a brief stretch of eye contact, he reached out and patted her on the head, then got up and returned to his seat on the sofa.
Because he knew Tamamo Cross would definitely be able to work these things out for herself. What she needed right now wasn't a lecture. More likely, she just needed some quiet.
And in the end, Tamamo Cross hadn't actually done anything wrong. If anything, she'd been exceptionally admirable. He had only said those things because he wanted her to think a little more about herself.
Then, after sitting back down on the sofa, worn out from everything that had happened and mentally relaxing for the first time all day, Kitahara had meant only to close his eyes for a bit—but as he rested there, his breathing gradually deepened and lengthened.
Meanwhile, Tamamo Cross sat on the bed with her head lowered, both hands resting in front of her, as though she were thinking through something.
Family...
Recalling Kitahara's words, Tamamo Cross lightly rubbed the button in her pocket with her fingers. Her face was hidden beneath the shadow of her hair, and her exact expression couldn't be seen.
To be honest, back at the first shop, when she'd thrown that crumpled paper away, she really had felt awful inside.
After all, no matter who it was, if something they had spent so much time and effort preparing was brushed aside that easily, it was bound to hurt.
It wasn't as though she had meant to hide her feelings from Kitahara. It was just that, because of the way she'd grown up, she had long since become used to facing everything alone, so she had done it almost unconsciously.
She knew Kitahara wouldn't blame her for something like that.
But just like he had said, he thought of her as family.
And if the situation were reversed—if Kitahara ran into some trouble that she clearly could have helped with, especially if it had something to do with her, but chose not to tell her because he didn't want her worrying, and instead acted as if nothing was wrong—then she knew she would feel awful too.
She might even get angry.
So she didn't think there was anything wrong with what Kitahara had said, and she could see the concern and care behind it.
Logically, once she had thought it through that far, there shouldn't have been any reason for Tamamo Cross to keep dwelling on it.
At the end of the day, it was just Kitahara caring about her. She hadn't really done anything wrong. All she needed to do in the future was be a little more honest with him when something happened.
And if that was the case, then from now on, when she ran into trouble, she wouldn't have to bear it all alone anymore. She had someone she could trust now—family.
By all rights, that should have made her happy.
And yet, even though the logic of it was perfectly clear, once she had worked through it, a few tiny details—things she had ignored until now—began slowly rising up from the bottom of her mind and placing themselves in front of her.
Why, back at the first shop, had she not dared to take Kitahara's hand?
Did she dislike Kitahara?
That was obviously impossible.
If she really disliked him, she never would have chosen to join his team, let alone think of him as family.
But if it wasn't dislike, then why, at that moment, had she preferred giving up on entering the shop to simply holding Kitahara's hand and walking in while pretending to be a couple?
And was it really that she had been "unwilling"?
More than that, now that she thought about it carefully, even the planning of her route had been strange.
After all, events like those shop promotions didn't spring up overnight. There had to be advance preparation and announcements.
Most of the shops, for one reason or another, hadn't released all the event details ahead of time, only teaser notices. Most Trainers and Umamusume who went over there hadn't known the full story until they arrived and realized something was off.
But Tamamo Cross had started investigating and planning long before that, and she hadn't just gone to one or two places—she had practically run all over the area around Tracen.
Among those shops, some had put up the event posters a whole day early to save themselves trouble. As for the others, they had all given some kind of advance notice one way or another. Logically, she should have figured out the details and requirements of the events long before the two of them ever stood in front of those posters and looked up at them.
But in reality, it was only when they got there and looked at the posters that she had "realized" how strange the requirements were.
Had she really overlooked them by accident?
Or had she deliberately ignored them?
Or maybe she had actually known all along, but had somehow "accidentally" forgotten?
She didn't know why, but every time she thought about it, Tamamo Cross found herself instinctively avoiding those questions—right up until Kitahara's words jolted her hard enough that she could no longer keep brushing them aside.
And stranger still, on the surface, these all seemed like trivial little details that shouldn't matter much at all.
But every time Tamamo Cross seriously tried to think about them, she felt a heavy pressure in her chest, as though something was pressing down on it and making it hard to breathe.
No. Something was wrong. There was something wrong. She should...
As her thoughts went deeper and deeper, Tamamo Cross felt her consciousness starting to blur. Instinctively, she raised her head and looked at Kitahara.
Originally, she had looked at him because some instinct inside her told her that if she wanted to find the answers to those questions, the most important clue had to lie with Kitahara.
But when she actually looked at him—especially once she clearly saw what he looked like right now—Tamamo Cross froze.
Kitahara-san... is glowing?
Right there in front of her, Kitahara sat on the sofa, eyes closed, breathing slow and even, asleep.
But the issue wasn't how soundly he was sleeping.
It was that after he fell asleep, as his consciousness relaxed, tiny specks of light began to appear around him, then slowly spread outward.
Some of the denser ones revolved around him, gradually forming streaks of flowing radiance. Others were more diffuse, drifting out like mist and wrapping around him like a gauzy veil.
Tamamo Cross blinked. After confirming that she probably wasn't imagining it, she pinched herself hard enough that she nearly cried out, and only then finally accepted that this was not a hallucination.
And it was only then, as she watched those flowing lights, that her mind began gradually clearing, and the oppressive feeling in her chest slowly faded.
She remembered now.
The reason she hadn't taken Kitahara's hand was simply because she had been worried he might not like that sort of thing, so after brushing against his hand once, she had immediately let go.
As for why she hadn't noticed the event requirements, that was because all her attention had been on the prizes and her route planning, so she had coincidentally overlooked the conditions.
Right. That was it. It had to be.
Once she had worked that out, clarity returned to Tamamo Cross's eyes, and her mood visibly improved.
And once her spirits lifted, she looked at the light surrounding Kitahara. She had no idea what exactly was happening, but seeing how peacefully he was sleeping, Tamamo Cross thought it over and decided not to wake him just yet.
I should record it on my phone first. Otherwise, if he doesn't believe me later, that'll be a pain...
With that thought, Tamamo Cross took out her phone and tried to film Kitahara as he was now.
But strangely enough, once she started recording, she was shocked to find that the flowing light around Kitahara could not be captured by the camera at all.
Just like the Domain Umamusume displayed on the track.
After fiddling with it for a while and confirming she really couldn't record it, Tamamo Cross had no choice but to put her phone away and simply keep watching him, trying to commit the sight to memory with her own eyes.
But after watching for a while, her expression shifted slightly.
Sleeping like that can't be comfortable, can it?
Looking at the way Kitahara had dozed off against the sofa, Tamamo Cross thought for a moment, then got to her feet, quietly walked over, and reached out to lift him up out of the chair.
For an ordinary woman, carrying a full-grown man would have been difficult.
But Tamamo Cross was an Umamusume. Even a relatively small Umamusume could pick up a person without much trouble.
And while she was lifting him, perhaps because her movement was too big, or perhaps because Kitahara was simply that alert, his awareness seemed to return for a moment. His eyes opened a sliver and swept over his surroundings, but once he saw that it was Tamamo Cross touching him, they quickly closed again, and his breathing deepened once more.
And so Tamamo Cross carried Kitahara over to the bed.
Then, seeing him lying there, another thought occurred to her.
Sleeping in his clothes probably isn't great either, right?
Thinking that, Tamamo Cross reached toward Kitahara's collar and began undoing his buttons.
As for whether that might be a little inappropriate—
Tamamo Cross didn't think there was anything inappropriate about it.
After all, he had just said they were family. So what was wrong with family helping undo a few buttons?
Still, even though that was what she told herself, her hands suddenly stopped halfway through.
Don't misunderstand—this wasn't because she had suddenly realized anything.
It was simply that halfway through, she suddenly noticed the room felt a little cold, and if she took his clothes off like this, he might catch a chill.
That wouldn't do. She needed something warm...
Thinking that, Tamamo Cross looked around the room. Her gaze automatically skipped over the air conditioner on the ceiling, and when she couldn't seem to find anything warm enough, it slowly settled on her own hands.
Ah. Right. There's something warm right here, isn't there?
With that thought, Tamamo Cross took off her own outer jacket. After thinking for another moment, she stood up, quietly slipped off her shorts as well, tossed them aside, then bent down again and resumed undressing Kitahara.
Her movements were gentle and careful. Little by little, she helped straighten his body, then lightly eased off the jacket whose buttons she had already undone, folded it neatly, and set it aside.
His pants should come off too.
Thinking that, Tamamo Cross's hand slowly moved down toward Kitahara's waist.
But just as she was about to turn her head, the corner of her eye suddenly caught sight of Kitahara's lips.
Perhaps because of the long day, and because he hadn't had much to drink, they looked a little dry and chapped, and before long, her attention was fixed on them.
That doesn't look too good either. And I don't have anything on hand to moisturize them...
—In fact, she did. One of the prizes was lip balm, and there was free bottled water right nearby.
But in any case, once again, Tamamo Cross ignored those irrelevant little details. After thinking it over, she slowly lowered her head.
Soft. Slick. Sweet.
Tamamo Cross leaned her whole upper body over Kitahara and earnestly began moistening his dry lips with her tongue.
And just then, perhaps because he was dreaming of something, or perhaps because he misunderstood what was happening—but in any case, once Tamamo Cross began wetting his lips, Kitahara's expression changed slightly. Then he lifted his hands, wrapped them around the Tamamo Cross lying against him, and began responding in turn.
The sudden movement startled Tamamo Cross. Once she realized what was happening, she looked at the face right in front of her and felt the drifting contact running over her body. Even though the room was still a little cold, for some reason, she began to feel hot instead.
Even so, Tamamo Cross made no extra move.
She did not resist or struggle, nor did she have any intention of taking things further.
Because she didn't want to wake him.
After all, the whole point of what she was doing was to help him sleep more comfortably. And while it did seem like taking off his pants and covering him with the blanket would probably make him more comfortable, if doing that woke him up, then she'd be defeating the purpose.
So the two of them remained in that position for quite some time. Then, perhaps because the content of his dream changed, Kitahara finally let go of her.
But even after he released her, Tamamo Cross couldn't get up right away. She remained limp against him for quite a while, breathing unevenly with a faintly resentful look in her eyes, before finally managing to raise herself, a trace of flushed color still lingering on her face.
"...That's too much."
For some reason, Tamamo Cross muttered that softly to herself, then turned her gaze once more toward Kitahara's waist, ready to make him a little more comfortable.
Right. Take off the pants, then pull the blanket over him, and the two of us can hold each other so he won't be cold, and we can both sleep comfortably...
Wait. In that case, should she take a bath first?
She had just worked up a sweat, after all, and the clothes she still had on felt a little stiff. Maybe after washing up, she could change into that lace underwear set. It looked light and soft enough that it probably wouldn't chafe as much...
Tempting as the thought was, after considering it for a while, Tamamo Cross still gave up on the idea.
No. Too much trouble. And the noise from the bath would wake him up. Better save it for next time...
Thinking that, Tamamo Cross moved her hand to Kitahara's waist and began slowly peeling away the rest of his lower clothes.
Good. That's it. Just keep this pace, and in a little more—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sudden, forceful pounding on the door made Kitahara's eyes fly open.
And then his gaze met that of the person sitting astride him, already stripped of her jacket, wearing only underwear and stockings, in the middle of taking off his pants.
At the same time, the person outside the door spoke as well.
"Trainer Kitahara, are you in there?"
It was Mejiro Ardan's voice.
---
T/N: oh tamamo is delusional and in denial... wow wait no, she just overlooked these things! silly me! just like hwo you guys are about to overlook this cliffhanger
4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, i was too focused on something elseeeeeeeeeeeee ive been playing 7daystodieeeeeeeeeee
bonus chaps
200 stones -> 1 chapter
400 stones -> 2 chapters
600 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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