Inside a certain karaoke booth, Starlight had gone to order drinks and fruit platters.
Teio, having already grabbed a microphone, was busily singing one of Symboli Rudolf's songs.
"Starlight-senpai~ Let me help you with those!"
Suddenly, Special Week's voice rang out from behind Starlight.
"Ah! Thanks, Spe-chan."
Before she could even react, the fruit platters and drinks had been whisked out of her hands by Special Week.
"Hehe, it's nothing! Which room is it~?"
"The one at the very end of the corner. Slow down, Spe-chan, don't spill anything!"
"Got it!"
Silence Suzuka walked up to Starlight's side and said with a smile, "Spe-chan seems very energetic, doesn't she, Starlight-chan?"
"She is. It's good to see her like this—!"
Before she could finish her sentence, a sudden, massive force struck her from behind.
Starlight was tackled directly to the ground.
"Hey! Daiwa Scarlet, look what you've done! Starlight-senapi, are you okay?!"
Vodka hurriedly scrambled off Starlight.
She first scolded the culprit standing opposite her, then helped Starlight up.
"I'm fine. Can you two just settle down for a bit?"
"S-Sorry, Senpai..."
Daiwa Scarlet leaned in, bowing her head as she apologized.
"Alright, I'm fine, no need to apologize. It's lucky you only bumped into me, but there are other guests around, so stop the roughhousing."
"Yes! We understand!" the two replied in unison.
As the two Uma Musume followed Special Week into the booth, Starlight glanced back.
"Where is Ryo Nishizaki?"
"The Trainer said he had another drinking party to attend. He's leaving things here to you, Starlight-chan."
Silence Suzuka scratched her head, looking a bit embarrassed as she spoke.
"Sigh... How did that guy ever become a Trainer? He's such an unreliable adult~"
"Hehe, I actually think it's because he trusts your abilities, Starlight-chan, that he didn't come back."
Hearing Suzuka's praise, the tail behind Starlight swished back and forth.
She reached out and said, "Well then, let's head inside too."
"Mhm~"
Upon entering the booth, Starlight saw Teio singing joyfully while Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka cheered her on. Meanwhile, Special Week snacked on fruit every now and then.
She nodded, her expression relaxing.
'This is pretty nice... wait, why is one missing?'
Her eyes blinked in surprise.
After a second look, She confirmed it: Gold Ship was missing!
Standing up, she asked Silence Suzuka beside her.
"Suzuka-chan, have you seen Gold Ship?"
Perhaps because the music was too loud, Silence Suzuka didn't hear her clearly.
She tilted her head and frowned slightly.
"What was that, Starlight-chan? I can't hear you."
"I said! Have you seen Gold Ship?!"
This time, Starlight raised her voice a bit. Suzuka nodded, then tapped her own ear.
Seeing this, Starlight simply leaned in close to the other girl's ear and whispered softly.
"Have you seen Gold Ship?"
The warm breath brushed against Suzuka's ear, causing her face to flush slightly and her ears to twitch.
"Ah... n-no. Should I go with you to look for her?"
"That works. Let's go then..."
With that, Starlight pulled Silence Suzuka out of the booth.
"Phew~ Did she come out with you guys?"
"She did, right? I didn't really notice either, since she wasn't with us during training."
"Sigh... do you think she fell asleep in some random corner of the training grounds?"
Starlight paused her search for Gold Ship and looked at Silence Suzuka.
"It's possible..."
Just as the two were stuck in that limbo of wanting to search but not knowing where to move, a familiar voice interrupted them.
"Hey! You guys are so unfair, leaving me behind to come to do karaoke by yourselves! Didn't we agree to wait in line together to buy takoyaki?!"
Gold Ship, carrying four boxes of takoyaki, walked around the corner and grumbled as she spotted the two of them.
"Huh? Takoyaki... what's going on?"
Starlight looked at Silence Suzuka in confusion.
"Oh, I remember now. When training ended and we were heading back to the Academy, we saw a stall selling takoyaki on the side of the road."
"And then Spe-chan said we should all wait in line to eat."
"But when everyone saw how long the line was, they all gave up. Only she stayed behind."
Her lip twitching slightly, Starlight looked at Gold Ship, who had already walked up to them, after hearing Suzuka's explanation.
"You certainly are persistent, Gold Ship-san~"
"Ahaha! I have no idea what you're talking about, but Starlight-chan, look~ want a taste?!"
Laughing like an idiot as she slung an arm around Starlight's shoulder, Gold Ship held out an open box of takoyaki in front of her.
"I'll pass. I already have plans to grab dinner with a friend later."
"Alright, that's a shame. How about you, Suzuka-chan?"
"No thanks. I had some snacks before coming here so I'm not very hungry. You should share them with the others~"
"Fine, fine. I'm heading in then. It's this room, right?"
"Mhm."
Once Gold Ship entered the booth, Starlight intended to follow, but as she turned to walk away, her wrist was caught by Silence Suzuka.
"What's wrong, Suzuka-chan...?"
Narrowing her eyes, Silence Suzuka asked with a smile, "Who exactly is Starlight-chan planning to have dinner with?"
Starlight looked a bit confused at first, but then her eyes curved into crescents as she gently took Suzuka's hand and countered with a question of her own.
"Suzuka-chan, asking me that... could it be that you want to have dinner with me too?"
"Ah, well... um, I was planning to ask you, Starlight-chan, but you said you already had an appointment with someone else, so..."
"Hehe, in that case, the person I made plans with can just be Suzuka-chan~"
"Eh!? Me?"
"That's right, it's Suzuka-chan."
"Oh, Suzuka-chan, really... I was going to tell you after the karaoke session was over, but you beat me to it."
After letting go of her hand, Starlight rubbed her chin and spoke with a hint of helplessness.
"Starlight-chan, that's not true, is it? You didn't actually have plans with anyone, you just said that to turn down Gold Ship."
"But... why did you say that person was me?"
"Hmm? Does Suzuka-chan not want to go to dinner with me?"
"That's not it, Starlight-chan. I want to go with you."
Hearing the clear affirmation, Starlight reached out and patted Suzuka on the head.
"Then everything else becomes unimportant. How about having dinner with me later?"
Suzuka calmed her racing heart and looked at the girl reaching out to invite her.
She slowly broke into a smile and nodded.
"Mhm, okay."
'Yes, everything else is unimportant, because I am the person who is going to dinner with Starlight-chan.'
In the evening, after saying goodbye to the other Uma Musume, Starlight and Suzuka went to a restaurant near the dorms.
The two girls ordered a few skewers and began to chat while they enjoyed their meal.
"How does it taste?"
"Mmm... it's delicious, ah—!"
Suzuka was mid-sentence when some juice from the meat skewer dripped onto her skirt.
Seeing this, Starlight took out a wet wipe she had prepared and helped her wipe it off.
"You really need a plate or something to catch the drips, right?"
"Mhm, thank you, Starlight-chan."
The dinner was peaceful and full of happiness.
Outside the restaurant, Suzuka noticed a bit of oil on the corner of Starlight's mouth.
She took out a green handkerchief and wiped it clean for her.
"Ah, I could have just used a tissue, Suzuka-chan. There was no need to get your handkerchief dirty, you'll have to wash it now."
"It's... it's fine, Starlight-chan. Let's head back quickly."
Silence Suzuka seemed to have something on her mind as she hurriedly folded the handkerchief, stuffed it into her pocket, and made the suggestion.
Although curious, Starlight didn't say anything and followed her back to the dorms.
About half a month passed.
After a lot of effort, Starlight and Teio successfully raised the idol performance standards of Team Spica.
As for the third member of their trio... well, Mejiro McQueen had quite a few grievances.
On the weekend, outside Starlight's dorm room, Mejiro McQueen stood with her arms crossed, staring intently at the tightly shut door.
"Hmph..."