Ever since Grass Wonder learned the truth about Shirayuki and Chiya, she had been turning their relationship over in her head.
Agnes Tachyon had explained it to her. Shirayuki and Chiya were simply two identities belonging to the same person.
Even so, Grass Wonder still couldn't quite wrap her head around it.
She had bathed with Shirayuki. Eaten with her. Slept beside her.
At this point, she could say she knew Shirayuki inside and out.
But Trainer Chiya?
Grass Wonder knew next to nothing about him. She wasn't his uma musume, and she had hardly interacted with him.
Even if the difference was only "identity," different identities created different experiences. The memories she shared with Shirayuki could not simply be transferred over to Trainer Chiya as if they were the exact same thing.
Grass Wonder couldn't do that.
She couldn't just look at Trainer Chiya and see Shirayuki.
It felt like your girlfriend suddenly dragged a man over one day and said, "This person is me."
Even if that was true, how was Grass Wonder supposed to accept it right away?
She wanted to know.
The "Yuki-chan" she had been thinking about day and night…
Was she merely a disguise worn by Trainer Chiya?
Or was she truly… him?
"Could you tell me, Trainer?"
Grass Wonder fixed him with a burning stare.
"Who exactly is my Yuki-chan?"
Her beautiful sky-blue eyes were filled with doubt and stubborn resolve. She knew this question was terribly rude. She was prying straight into his privacy, tearing open a secret he had never owed her.
But to Grass Wonder, this was important.
It would decide whether her feelings for Shirayuki were connected to Trainer Chiya.
Even if Shirayuki and Trainer Chiya shared the same soul, the one who had spent all those days and nights beside her was Shirayuki.
It was Chiya in another identity.
Not Chiya himself.
Grass Wonder stubbornly separated the two.
Hearing her question, Fujiwara Chiya finally understood why she had called him here. He fell silent for a moment, then answered.
"She is me… and she isn't."
"…What does that mean?"
"Through Shirayuki, I play the role of the ideal person in my heart. Rather than saying Shirayuki is me, it would be more accurate to say Shirayuki is the girl I wish for. Every word she says, every gesture she makes, every little movement, they're all exactly what I love most."
He paused.
"So you can't look at Shirayuki as simply me. She is my idealized self. A part of me."
Grass Wonder clenched her fists.
"Then where is the real Yuki-chan?"
"Here."
Fujiwara Chiya pointed to his heart.
"Do you want to see her?"
"…I do."
Fujiwara Chiya coughed a few times, opened his mouth, and began adjusting his voice.
Men and women spoke differently. Men's voices tended to be rougher, women's softer and brighter. It wasn't only a matter of vocal cords. Their way of producing sound differed as well, born from differences in physical structure.
And because Fujiwara Chiya possessed both bodies, he could clearly feel the difference between the two.
As he shifted his voice, his breathing gradually changed.
The masculine depth faded, turning soft and gentle.
The way people recognized others wasn't only through appearance. It was also habits. Movements. Tone. Voice.
When facing someone truly familiar, even if their face was hidden, you could tell who they were from the way they walked, or from the little unconscious gestures they made.
And Shirayuki had long since become a part of Fujiwara Chiya.
Every word, every action, every breath of hers had been carved into his soul.
Now, he was going to bring that part of Shirayuki out through this body.
The corners of Fujiwara Chiya's lips curved upward.
He smiled.
Then he raised one hand, spread his five fingers at a beautifully delicate angle, and gave Grass Wonder a small wave.
In a soft voice, he said, "Good morning, Grass."
Thump!
Grass Wonder's heart lurched.
She clapped a hand over her mouth, her pupils trembling.
Yuki-chan…
There was no doubt.
This was Yuki-chan.
The expression.
The tone.
The movement.
Everything was exactly the Shirayuki in Grass Wonder's heart.
That gentle smile. That adorable little gesture.
It was as if Shirayuki had simply slipped into someone else's skin.
At that moment, Chiya and Shirayuki overlapped completely.
Grass Wonder lowered her head, shock crashing through her chest.
"That is 'Shirayuki,'" Fujiwara Chiya said, returning to his usual expression.
"Shirayuki" was no longer merely the name of Fujiwara Chiya's female body.
She was a part of his heart.
The most ideal girl within him.
That body simply gave form to the ideal inside Chiya's heart, making her something he could touch. Something he could hold. Something he could pour his feelings into.
That was why Fujiwara Chiya had answered, "She is me, and she isn't."
Shirayuki was indeed him.
But Shirayuki was also Shirayuki.
A long while passed before Grass Wonder finally raised her head.
The way she looked at Fujiwara Chiya had already changed.
"Yu…ki-chan?"
"Mm?"
"Trainer Chiya."
"Mm."
Grass Wonder closed her eyes. After a moment of hesitation, she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Fujiwara Chiya.
"Yuki-chan…"
"What is it?"
"Trainer Chiya."
"…Grass?"
As Grass Wonder's embrace grew tighter and tighter, Fujiwara Chiya gently stroked her head.
"Is it still hard for you to accept?"
"No. I'm only confirming it."
Grass Wonder pressed her ear against Fujiwara Chiya's chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
"I want to see whether my beloved Yuki-chan is truly inside here."
Then, softly, she continued.
"If my Yuki-chan really is in here, then I will love Trainer Chiya the same way I love Yuki-chan."
Seeing Grass Wonder lay her feelings bare, Fujiwara Chiya scratched his head.
"Um, Grass… aren't you into girls?"
"Mm?"
Grass Wonder blinked, her expression turning puzzled.
"Why would Trainer Chiya think that?"
"Well, that rainy day. You, Meek, and I went to the inn together. That night, you and I… or more accurately, you and Shirayuki, did all sorts of things. So I thought you might be a little more… opposed to men. That was just my guess."
"Ah, my. So that's what you meant."
Grass Wonder's lips curved.
"I don't fall for someone because of their appearance, Trainer Chiya. I fell for Yuki-chan because her actions touched my heart and captivated me. Of course, Yuki-chan is certainly adorable, but that alone is not enough to make me love her. What I love most is Yuki-chan's character."
"I see…"
"Yes. So even if Yuki-chan has a man's body, even if her voice becomes deeper, her face becomes more handsome, and her height becomes taller, I can accept that completely."
Grass Wonder lifted her head and gazed up at Fujiwara Chiya, smiling sweetly.
"Because no matter what form Yuki-chan takes, she will always be the person I love."
As expected of a true Yamato Nadeshiko.
When it came to winning over men, she knew exactly what she was doing.
Fujiwara Chiya's heart wavered under her words. He coughed a few times and patted Grass Wonder on the head.
"I understand. Thank you, Grass."
He tried to pull himself free from the embrace that was growing tighter by the second, but Grass Wonder's strength was no joke.
Fujiwara Chiya couldn't get out at all.
"Grass? Let go first."
"I have already understood the relationship between Trainer Chiya and Yuki-chan. I have also expressed my feelings."
Grass Wonder smiled as she asked,
"So when can we get married, Trainer?"