After Orfevre and Gold Ship finished their prep races, both of them walked away with excellent results.
Two wins in a row sent this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hype in Japan soaring to an unprecedented level. Everywhere you looked online, the Arc was all anyone could talk about.
At the same time, their success also pushed Fujiwara Chiya's name into Uma Musume Daily again and again.
"Fujiwara Chiya, age twenty-five, senior Trainer…"
The article laid out his information in exhaustive detail. Height, weight, school history, and the race records of the uma musume under him. At a glance, everything seemed normal.
The problem was the last line.
Currently unmarried. Applications welcome.
"Hm?"
Was Uma Musume Daily always allowed to publish people's personal information like this?
That one extra sentence completely changed the flavor of the whole column!
Who wrote this?!
Shirayuki slid her eyes down to the byline and saw a name that was painfully familiar.
"Arima Reina."
Shirayuki's fingers twitched.
That was the name of the girl who had confessed to him around graduation.
Thinking back on it now, maybe that girl just hadn't been very good at expressing herself. And then… he had also been a complete blockhead, which led to the two of them parting on bad terms.
They really had been young back then.
In the blink of an eye, seven years had passed.
So she had become a newspaper reporter…
"Congratulations," Shirayuki murmured.
It seemed she had found her own path in life too.
But why did you deliberately write that I'm "unmarried"? What's that supposed to mean?!
You definitely still remember me, don't you? You did this on purpose, didn't you?!
After scrolling through a few more posts, Shirayuki put away her phone and let out a long breath. Then she looked over at Fujiwara Chiya sitting beside her.
The man's eyes had gone blank. He had entered full meditation mode.
In the final race before leaving Tracen, Shirayuki had successfully entered her Zone at the same time Chiya entered his Slow Zone. Their consciousnesses had been completely disconnected. Without the interference of his body, Shirayuki had stepped into the complete form of her Zone.
The world had turned black.
Shirayuki couldn't quite describe how it had felt. She could barely remember it now. All she had left was a vague impression.
Empty.
Pure emptiness.
Not a single beam of light.
Everything around her had been swallowed in pitch-black darkness. Only she remained, standing on ground with no clear texture beneath her feet. In that darkness, her own body came into perfect view. The sweat on her skin. The air leaving her lungs. Even the tiny tremble of her eyelashes.
She could see it all with terrifying clarity.
That was what it meant to possess absolute mastery over one's own body.
Unfortunately, in the training that followed, Shirayuki hadn't been able to enter that dual-Zone state again. She tried to have Chiya empty his mind while she entered her Zone.
But progress was not going smoothly.
For one thing, Chiya kept thinking about things and breaking the state. For another, the mutual influence between their two bodies made it almost impossible to completely stop one side from functioning.
They needed a very precise moment.
Last time, everything had lined up by chance.
And now Shirayuki needed to learn how to seize that moment herself.
"Two more times!"
Bending low, Shirayuki burst forward, chasing that feeling.
Just as she was about to slip into her Zone, Chiya woke up on his side.
"Failed…"
The man frowned.
The firm sensation of the ground beneath his feet had unconsciously made him start thinking about running form, causing his Slow Zone to vanish. His consciousness snapped back into his body.
No wonder nobody trained this kind of thing.
It was way too hard!
Fujiwara Chiya took out the training plan and lay down on the grass.
The amount of improvement it gave an uma musume depended entirely on the uma musume herself. It was easy to fail, and if the uma musume wasn't perceptive enough, all the effort might end up amounting to nothing.
Maybe I should try Yaeno Muteki's method instead…
Chiya felt that Meek's approach was already nearing its limit. He wasn't like that naturally fluffy marshmallow. He didn't possess that ridiculous level of looseness.
Looking was looking. Doing was doing. Listening was listening.
It sounded simple enough when put into words, but in practice, nothing was harder than those three things.
As Fujiwara Chiya flipped through the training plan, he felt a sting in his eyes.
He had stayed up late again last night, revising the training programs back at Tracen, and hadn't slept until one in the morning. Although Darley had grown capable enough as an assistant to stand on her own, she was still a newcomer, and her abilities were limited.
To ensure Rice Shower and the others maintained their training quality, Fujiwara Chiya personally revised and supervised every training plan.
Even with Shirayuki and the others' races fast approaching, he hadn't let the training back home fall behind. As a result, his sleep had taken a serious hit lately, and his mental state was not exactly sparkling.
Perhaps Orfevre and the others had noticed how exhausted he was, because these past few days, they had been almost frighteningly well-behaved. They came over to massage his shoulders, pour tea, and fetch water for him.
For once, Fujiwara Chiya got to see an Orfevre who did exactly what she was told.
She didn't even complain.
Everything had become, "I understand."
Yawning, Fujiwara Chiya set the training plan down and prepared to take a short nap.
Shirayuki stopped, panting lightly.
Chiya's poor physical condition would affect her side as well. Even if Shirayuki went to sleep early every night, she still couldn't fully erase the impact of her male body's condition.
But if he fell asleep, it wouldn't matter.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Shirayuki walked over to Fujiwara Chiya. She gently lifted his head and placed it on her lap.
Feeling the warm weight against the back of her thighs, Shirayuki smiled.
As expected, her thighs were much more comfortable than any pillow.
If Treve didn't come to check her room every night, Shirayuki really would have loved to sneak over and become her own pillow every single day. Even if her sleep time was reduced, she was sure she'd sleep beautifully like that.
Looking down at the man's tired face, Shirayuki reached out and gently kneaded the corners of his eyes, searching for the most comfortable spot.
"You've worked hard," Shirayuki whispered.
Her pale, slender fingers brushed over the man's lips.
Shirayuki was thanking herself.
When no one was there to comfort her, Shirayuki would comfort herself.
She was a complete person, one with two sides of the same body. She didn't need to receive anything from others. Whatever she wanted, she would give to herself.
While Shirayuki hummed softly, lulling Fujiwara Chiya into a deeper sleep, Orfevre walked over.
"Are you done training already?"
Her eyes fell on Fujiwara Chiya, who was lying on Shirayuki's lap, and her voice immediately dropped.
"Trainer is asleep?"
"Mhm."
The sensation from Chiya's side had already disappeared. He really was asleep.
Orfevre stood there for a moment, hesitating. Then she sat down beside Shirayuki and patted her own lap.
"Put Trainer here. You still need to train, don't you? I won't hold you up."
In the past, she had always been the one lying on Trainer's lap.
Now, she wanted Trainer to lie on hers.
Looking after each other was a partner's duty. Seeing Fujiwara Chiya run himself ragged every day, Orfevre wanted to do something for him too.
Simply satisfying physical desire was nowhere near enough anymore.
Orfevre wanted to connect with Trainer on a spiritual level as well. She wanted them to become each other's support.
However, just as Orfevre waited for Shirayuki to hand Fujiwara Chiya over, Shirayuki shook her head.
"No."
"…Hah?"
"Chiya sleeps most peacefully here with me. I'll wait until he wakes up before training."
Shirayuki gently stroked the man's cheek.
"Hah??"
Orfevre's brows immediately knitted together.
"What are you doing, Shirayuki? I am Trainer's… Trainer's…"
Orfevre opened her mouth and nearly blurted out the word "wife."
She wasn't yet.
But it wouldn't be long before she was!
And now Shirayuki was suddenly competing with her for Trainer?
What kind of nonsense was this?
You're just his little sister! Don't you know who outranks who here?!
Watching the visibly irritated Orfevre, Shirayuki turned her face away and ignored her.
Right now, Shirayuki wanted to be her own pillow.
No one could stop her.
Chiya belonged to her.
Only when she allowed Orfevre to use him could Orfevre use him.
In the past, Orfevre's clinginess had been built on two foundations.
First, Orfevre herself had been unsatisfied.
Second, Fujiwara Chiya had not disliked it.
But as someone half male and half female, the two bodies still had their differences. Chiya might not mind, but Shirayuki certainly did. If all of his precious energy went to Orfevre, what was Shirayuki supposed to use?
In Shirayuki's heart, she would always come first.
When she wanted Chiya, everyone else had to step aside.
Right now, she wanted to be Chiya's pillow.
You, Orfevre, are not allowed.
Orfevre glared at the unmoving Shirayuki and puffed out her cheeks.
If she tried to snatch him by force, she would definitely wake Trainer up.
After thinking it over again and again, Orfevre took the man's hand and gently kneaded his palm, giving Fujiwara Chiya a hand massage.
When Trainer woke up, she was absolutely going to complain to him about Shirayuki.
How dare a little sister climb over her head?