That night, Hayakawa Tazuna tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Chiya. Thinking about it carefully, Chiya and Shirayuki's interactions were strange to begin with.
No... it was not only their interactions. Even Shirayuki's way of appearing was extremely odd. Hayakawa Tazuna stood at the school gate every day, so she knew everyone who entered and left the academy.
Yet even so, Hayakawa Tazuna had never noticed when exactly Shirayuki had entered. Her identity also could not be verified. The whole matter was simply wrapped in mystery.
Hayakawa Tazuna turned over and looked at the sleeping man. She could not help sighing at how carefree he was.
He had clearly left behind a huge pile of mysteries, yet he slept there like a child who had played until he was tired.
While Hayakawa Tazuna was looking at Chiya's sleeping face, she noticed Akikawa Yayoi also looking this way. Their gazes met.
Right now, Hayakawa Tazuna was not in the mood to compete with her, nor did she want to do something like a night attack.
"Yayoi."
She spoke in a voice that would not wake the man. This time, she called the director by her name, not by her Tracen title. In other words, Hayakawa Tazuna wanted to speak to her as an old companion and friend.
"What is it?"
"Did you hear everything Shirayuki said?"
"Mm. I heard it all."
After all, she had been sitting right beside them.
"Don't you think it's strange? Why would Shirayuki know those things?"
"Yes... it is strange."
When Hayakawa Tazuna raced, Akikawa Yayoi had also been there. However, she had stood on the VIP viewing platform. Even back then, Akikawa Yayoi's status had already been far from ordinary. Naturally, she had seen Chiya standing near the finish line.
That position, that appearance, matched exactly with the "herself" Shirayuki had described.
Akikawa Yayoi did not think Shirayuki would deliberately disguise Chiya's experience as her own and tell it that way. Shirayuki did not know Hayakawa Tazuna's identity, so she had no reason to lie.
"Could Shirayuki... have some special connection with Chiya?"
"I don't know. Maybe. Are you curious?"
"Of course. I'm Chiya's partner. I have a duty to know everything about him."
"Isn't your desire to control him a little too strong? If you try to control everything, Chiya will hate you."
"It's fine. I just need to make him love me so much he can't live without me."
As she spoke, Hayakawa Tazuna gently touched Chiya's cheek, her face showing an intoxicated expression. Akikawa Yayoi's eyes twitched, and for some reason, a chill ran through her body.
Although she and Hayakawa Tazuna had both poured all their affection into the trainer's flesh and blood, Hayakawa Tazuna had clearly grown in a crooked direction. What should have been sibling-like affection, just like hers, had somehow turned into possessiveness.
What exactly had made Tazuna become like this?
Akikawa Yayoi regretted not observing Hayakawa Tazuna's mental state more carefully. By the time she noticed, Tazuna had already become this irreparable version of herself.
"In that case, go ask Miss Dancer. She might know."
"Miss Dancer..."
That made sense. Since Shirayuki was someone from the Fujiwara family, Miss Dancer should know about her. She would call and ask tomorrow.
Thinking that, Hayakawa Tazuna quietly slipped into Chiya's blanket and rested her leg against him, moving closer.
"Hey, Tazuna. What are you trying to do?"
"Of course, I want to get a little closer to Chiya."
"He's still sleeping. Don't disturb him."
"What does it matter? I won't wake him up. A kiss or two is no big deal."
"W-What? Tazuna, get down from there—"
In the middle of the night, Shirayuki opened her eyes.
She felt a damp sensation on her fingers. Turning her head, she saw that Mejiro Dober had somehow slipped into her blanket. Mejiro Dober was holding her hand and gently licking it. Her small tongue moved between Shirayuki's fingers. In the quiet room, Shirayuki could hear the soft, wet sounds beside her ear.
What kind of new game is this...?
Mejiro Dober kept her eyes closed the entire time, so Shirayuki could not tell whether she was awake or simply moving unconsciously in her sleep. Shirayuki felt her fingers being taken deeper, with pressure around them, along with the sound of swallowing.
It feels like she's trying to eat me starting from my hand.
Fujiwara Shirayuki half-opened her eyes. What a bold thing to do. If she were awake, she definitely would not dare to do this, right?
Shirayuki had seen an unexpected side of her.
Letting Mejiro Dober play with her hand, Shirayuki closed her eyes again.
The next day, everyone returned to Tracen after finishing the hot spring trip.
Fujiwara Chiya rubbed his shoulders. His body, which had been somewhat heavy before, felt completely refreshed after yesterday's cleansing. His stiff muscles had softened considerably too. The others sat in their seats with similarly blissful expressions. Their fatigue had been swept away.
This time, Rice Shower did not sit in her exclusive seat, which was Fujiwara Chiya's lap. The reason was that the director was beside them. How should it be put? Rice Shower felt that if she acted overly affectionate with Onii-sama while sitting on him, she might leave a bad impression on the director.
So during this hot spring trip, she had basically stayed with Meisho Doto and the others.
I told you, Onii-sama. This trip can't really be called relaxing...
Although her body felt lighter than before, her mood could not exactly be called relaxed. Rather, she felt a little regretful. Such a wonderful night had been wasted just like that.
Rice Shower sighed inwardly. Last night, there had been strange sounds coming from the room the whole time, as if someone was licking something. Because of that, she had not slept well all night.
"Tazuna, what's wrong?"
Fujiwara Chiya looked at Hayakawa Tazuna beside him and could not help speaking.
Since earlier, her gaze had been fixed directly on him.
"Mm? No, it's nothing."
"Did you not rest well?"
"No..."
Hayakawa Tazuna shook her head.
"I was just thinking about work. After not going back for a day, I wonder how much has piled up."
"I see. Secretary work really is difficult."
Hayakawa Tazuna smiled, then turned toward the window.
After returning to Tracen, Hayakawa Tazuna briefly handled some documents, closed the door tightly, and took out her phone. She called Kitachi Dancer.
A few seconds later, the call connected, and a familiar voice came from the other side.
"Tazuna, how rare. You're calling me."
"Sorry for disturbing you, Miss Dancer."
"It's fine, it's fine. I'm free right now anyway, knitting a scarf. Do you want one? I even knitted Chiya onto the scarf!"
"Eh? Then please give me one... Wait, Miss Dancer, that's not why I called this time."
"Mm-hm, I'm listening."
"Miss Dancer, Chiya has a younger sister. Her name is Shirayuki. I was wondering whether you know her."
"Yuki? What happened to her?"
"'Yuki'?"
"That's right. She's my daughter, after all."
Northern Dancer said happily.