With her heart pounding at the thought of finally spilling what she'd been holding in, Kitasan Black burst out of the dorm room like a whirlwind.
Her urgent steps drummed a rapid beat over the wooden floorboards and down the stairs. Seeing her like that, more than a few Umamusume chatting in the hallway stared in surprise.
When Kitasan Black dashed past the dorm supervisor's duty room, Daiwa Scarlet—who'd been sorting through thesis materials—jerked her head up at the commotion outside.
Her pen nearly slipped from her fingers. She shot a baffled look out the door, then darted to the doorway.
"Hey—Kita-chan! It's late. Where are you going?"
Already dozens of meters away, Kitasan Black heard the familiar voice and skidded to a stop.
Turning around, she saw Daiwa Scarlet gripping the doorframe, frowning in confusion. Kitasan Black scratched her head and gave a goofy grin.
"Um… Daiwa-senpai, I've got something urgent to talk to my Trainer about! I'll be right back!"
Before the words had even finished leaving her mouth, she spun and sprinted again, disappearing into the lamplit campus path.
Daiwa Scarlet froze for a beat—then remembered something and hurriedly raised her voice toward the direction Kitasan Black had vanished.
"Don't forget the dorm lockout time! If you come back late, I'm locking you out! And be careful!"
The only answer was the fading rhythm of footsteps.
"…That kid. Always tearing around at full speed…"
Smiling to herself, Daiwa Scarlet turned back, about to return to the duty room and keep sorting her thesis materials—when she suddenly spotted a sneaky figure creeping down the stairwell.
It was clearly Satono Diamond, but she wasn't wearing Central Tracen Academy's uniform, nor her training gear.
Instead, she was dressed in black from head to toe: a black trench coat, black trousers, black flats.
"Diamond… it's late. Are you going out too?"
Daiwa Scarlet walked a few steps toward her, puzzled, then glanced again toward where Kitasan Black had run off.
"And Kita-chan… what's with you two?"
Diamond had been peering around cautiously, and being called out made her whole body stiffen.
Her eyes flickered. She started to stammer.
"Um… I'm—because Kita-chan… no, it's like, Kita-chan reminded me, and I realized I forgot to bring something to my sister, ahaha. I'm so careless. Hahaha…"
"Something?" Daiwa Scarlet looked her up and down, taking in the all-black outfit. "But you're dressed like…"
"Ah—uh—this…" A bead of sweat formed at Diamond's temple. In a flash of inspiration, she raised one finger and blurted out, "I was trying on clothes! And I also think this doesn't really suit me, but then I remembered I had to bring something to my sister and I forgot to change… hahaha…"
"I see…" Daiwa Scarlet nodded, only half convinced. Still, Crown's dorm wasn't far from here. In the end, she relented.
"Fine. Go and come back quickly—don't stay out too late."
"Oh, and if you run into Kita-chan, tell her not to come back too late either. And make sure she gets to bed early tonight."
"I happen to have some time tomorrow morning, and I've got partner-run training with her."
"I'll text her a reminder in a bit too."
"Mm-hm! I'll tell her!"
Seeing no sign of being stopped, Satono Diamond nodded like a frantic pecking chick, then fled the dorm building with an apologetic smile.
Not knowing where Kitasan Black had gone, Satono Diamond simply ran along the path on instinct for a while.
Once she felt sure Daiwa Scarlet wasn't following, she finally let out a breath. While pulling out her phone to text Satono Crown, she kept scanning left and right.
She happened to run into a few classmates returning late, and asked each of them in turn. Her eyes shifted—and soon a sly little smile crept onto her face.
...
Meanwhile, sprinting in high spirits along a familiar route, Kitasan Black reached a familiar apartment door before long.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Trainer? Are you asleep—ah, right, I should've called first…"
Only after knocking did she realize her mistake. She hurriedly fished out her phone.
Before she could even dial the number she knew by heart, the door opened.
She looked up on reflex—and saw Yasui Makoto first frowning in confusion, then freezing in startled surprise. Kitasan Black put her phone away and scratched her head with an apologetic grin.
"Ahaha… you weren't asleep after all, Trainer. Sorry for bothering you this late, really—"
She stopped mid-sentence, her gaze roaming over him.
Yasui Makoto was wearing knit pajamas.
The base color was black, but the soft, fluffy collar at the neckline—and the trim at the cuffs and hem—was a rich gold.
And unlike both the base and the trim, the sash at his waist was red and white, like the festival knots you'd see at a matsuri.
That color scheme was so familiar it hit Kitasan Black like a lightning bolt.
It was just like her race outfit.
Her eyes went wide, round as coins. The apology that had been on her lips scattered like it had been blown away by the wind—gone without a trace.
Her attention was completely caught by the pajamas. Unbidden, images flashed through her mind—herself flying down the track.
And those familiar colors, somehow, overlapped with the scene in front of her.
"T-Trainer… your pajamas…"
She stammered, her voice full of disbelief, one finger lifting on its own to point at what he was wearing.
"How are they like my race outfit…?"
Halfway through, she abruptly cut herself off. For no good reason at all, excitement and embarrassment surged together, and her cheeks flushed bright red—like a ripe tomato.
Yasui Makoto paused. He looked down at the pajamas, a hint of awkwardness flickering across his face.
The moment he'd heard Kitasan Black's voice, he'd opened the door without thinking. He'd only been puzzled why his Umamusume was here so late.
It was only now that he remembered: after that kitchen fiasco, he'd taken it as a lesson learned and decided to change his single-living habits. He'd bought a set of pajamas so misunderstandings like that wouldn't happen again.
And by coincidence, after the Kikuka Sho, Ōno Shōji had been discussing projects with investors and sponsors—pajamas among them—and they'd asked him for his input.
He hadn't thought much of it at the time. When he saw one of the design drafts, he'd even felt the way it blended elements of Kitasan Black's race outfit into sleepwear worked pretty well, so he'd approved having a few samples made.
The set he was wearing now was one of those samples—he'd gotten it today.
He hadn't expected that after changing into it not long ago—and only having time to confirm that it really was comfortable—Kitasan Black would show up.
She… isn't going to think I custom-ordered this for myself, is she? I mean, I did bring it up, but it's not like that…
Flustered, Yasui Makoto looked away and cleared his throat.
"Um, Kita-chan… don't get the wrong idea. I, uh… I don't have any weird hobbies. Really."
"This… it's actually a product from the company. It's merch—they're doing a collaboration with your race outfit…"
"Mine's a sample, so it's not like I had it custom-made for myself or anything. Don't misunderstand, okay?"