"Nooo! Come back and use your weird medicine to make Daddy glow in the dark again!"
In the background, Tachyon could hear her mother telling Oka not to pester her sister.
"Meanie!" Oka shouted, though it was unclear who she was talking to.
"I'm sorry, Oka. My next race is the Osaka Hai in April. Will you come see me then?"
"I'll be there!" Oka shouted. Then she turned away from the phone and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Mom! Sis says her next race is in April!"
"Alright, I have to go now. Put Mom back on."
"Wait! Are you making someone wait for you?" Oka asked, sensing the rush.
"Yes. My Trainer. We're traveling together."
Oka's voice turned shrill and excited, sounding just like their mother. "Oh! That's a date! Big Sis is on a date with her Trainer!"
Tachyon smirked. "And where did you learn that word? From a TV show?"
"No! My friend told me. She said grown-ups go to aquariums on dates. I asked what a date was, and she said it's when two people who love each other go out together. Are you on a date right now?"
"Yes," Tachyon said, purely to tease her. "Exactly."
She immediately regretted it when she heard Oka scream to their mother, "Mom! Sis says she's on a date with her Trainer right now!"
"It was a joke! A joke!" Tachyon hissed into the phone.
"Aww, just a joke?" Oka sounded disappointed. "But if you marry the Trainer, he becomes my big brother, right? I want a big brother!"
"You even know about marriage? Your friend again?"
"Yeah. But a different friend told me this: when people get married, they promise to love each other and then they kiss. And that's when a baby is born! I want to help raise a baby!"
Tachyon burst out laughing. "My goodness. Is the first-grade curriculum that advanced these days? I'm impressed. However, the Trainer and I aren't in that kind of relationship. Now, enough. Put Mother back on."
Oka finally subsided. "Okay. Good luck on your date, Big Sis!" Tachyon could hear the mischievous giggle in the girl's voice.
"How was she?" her mother asked, returning to the line.
"Developing a very cheeky personality," Tachyon replied.
The conversation wound down. They talked briefly about the Osaka Hai and Tachyon's physical health.
"Well," her mother concluded, "don't be a nuisance to Mr. Tanagami. Enjoy your stay, and make sure to thank his parents properly for their hospitality."
"I know. I haven't forgotten my manners entirely."
"Then have a safe trip. I love you."
"I'm off, then."
Tachyon hung up and stared at the dark screen for a moment, the word "Mother" still burned into her retinas. She exhaled—a sound somewhere between a sigh and a deep, centering breath—and ran back to her Trainer.
Tanagami had been pacing and swinging his arms to keep his blood flowing. His hands and feet were like blocks of ice. When Tachyon finally returned, he let out a puff of white breath.
"Sorry to keep you. That took longer than anticipated."
She grabbed the handle of her suitcase, and Tanagami hoisted his bag onto his shoulders.
"You seemed like you were having a lively conversation," he noted. "Was that your mother?"
"My mother and my sister. They are a noisy, meddlesome bunch... though I suppose it was good to hear their voices." She glanced at him, then started walking. "We've burned quite a bit of daylight. Let's move, Trainer-kun. Lunch is waiting for us."
Tanagami followed in silence. The warmth he'd built up through his exercises was already vanishing. Clouds had begun to crawl across the sky, swallowing the sun, and the drop in temperature was immediate and sharp. Tachyon noticed him lagging and slowed down to walk beside him.
"Are you feeling alright?"
Tanagami didn't trust his voice; he simply shook his head.
They walked for a long time without speaking. The clouds overhead shifted from a dull grey to the heavy, bruised purple of snow clouds. Small, delicate flakes began to drift down.
"Snow..." Tachyon murmured.
Tanagami looked up once, then returned his gaze to the ground. The nerves he'd managed to suppress on the train were back with a vengeance. Yesterday, he'd been so certain that there was "no turning back," but now, faced with the reality of his father's door, he felt a wave of nausea.
As he walked with his head down, his hand brushed against Tachyon's. Unlike his own frozen fingers, her hand was radiating the incredible natural warmth of an Umamusume. Suddenly, he felt her fingers lace through his.
Startled, he looked at her. She was already looking at him.
"What is it?" she asked softly.
Tanagami couldn't find the words. He just stared at her. A single snowflake landed on her bangs, lingered for a second, and vanished. Tachyon eventually turned her gaze back to the road ahead. Tanagami followed suit, knowing he'd trip over a curb if he kept staring at her, but he didn't pull his hand away.
Instead, he slowly, tentatively, squeezed back. He heard a soft, barely audible chuckle from beside him. He wanted to say something—anything—but the words were stuck. It wasn't until the weathered silhouette of the apartment building appeared through the snow that they finally let go.
"Thank you," he said, his voice a bit raspy.
He paused for a heartbeat, then added, "It was warm."
Tachyon gave him a small, complicated smile. "The pleasure was mine."
As they reached the building, they saw a shadow huddled in front of his father's door. It looked like a person, curled up and motionless, as if asleep. Tanagami and Tachyon shared a look and began to approach, their footsteps silent in the mounting snow.