Stars shimmered in the black sky, and Starlight soaked comfortably in the hot spring.
Thick white steam rose as her entire body was enveloped by the warm pool water.
Looking up at the sky, Starlight couldn't help but let out a groan of pure comfort.
Plop!
Suddenly, not far away, a certain "blue cat" slid into the pool.
After a few bubbles rose to the surface, Seiun Sky revealed half of her face and slowly drifted toward Starlight.
Quite unceremoniously, she leaned directly into Starlight's embrace.
Feeling the warm, soft touch, Seiun Sky narrowed her eyes and began to hum and gurgle contentedly.
Her wet cyan hair floated on the water's surface as Starlight reached out to stroke her head.
The atmosphere was incredibly peaceful.
For Seiun Sky, this was undoubtedly the most beautiful of times.
After indulging for a while, she straightened up and sat down to the side.
Although it felt wonderful, she knew that being so clingy might not be entirely comfortable for Starlight, so she kept just a small distance between them.
The two Uma Musume sat with their shoulders touching.
"Sigh. Just thinking about having to train under the scorching sun tomorrow makes my whole body ache..."
With a sigh, Seiun Sky's small hand beneath the water slowly searched for and found Starlight's hand.
Starlight's eyes crinkled into a smile.
She didn't pull away, naturally squeezing the other's hand, her tone full of energy.
"Do your best, Sky-chan! Even though you lost the Derby, aren't you going to compete in the Kikuka Sho later?"
"That's true, but Spe-chan is really so strong... I basically can't outrun her in the later stages."
Leaning against her shoulder, Starlight nuzzled against Seiun Sky's listless face.
"Just do your best, Sky-chan~"
A flush of red climbed onto her face.
Seiun Sky nodded, and then, as if a thought had struck her, she asked tentatively, "If Spe-chan wins, will Starlight-chan stop looking at me? Will Starlight-chan just... just go and look at her instead...?"
Hearing this, Starlight felt the grip on her hand tighten.
She reached out with her other hand to stroke the girl's face.
"Maybe~ After all, Spe-chan won the last race—"
As if triggered, before Divine Starlight could even finish her sentence, Seiun Sky suddenly turned and pinned her down.
Pressing Starlight's hands down, Sky's eyes trembled, her voice carrying a hint of a plea.
"Is that so... Starlight-chan, as long as I keep winning, will you keep your gaze fixed on me?"
"Sky-chan, calm down!"
"I am calm—"
Perhaps fearing she might hurt her, Starlight didn't push back with force.
She took a deep breath, looking into those slightly glazed-over eyes.
"I'm sorry, Sky-chan... Can you please let me finish?"
Starlight's eyes were slightly misty, looking incredibly pitiable. Seiun Sky froze for a moment and nodded in agreement.
"Spe-chan, Suzuka, or Grass and El... they are all very amazing and cute Uma Musume. You are too, Sky-chan."
"Whoever wins the race, I can't help but look at your figures bathed in cheers and applause..."
"But that doesn't mean I will ignore you or stop talking to you. I've always been here, haven't I? I've always been by your side..."
Her tone was still soft and gentle, but it was laced with a hint of being wronged.
Dazed, Seiun Sky fell into a stupor as she looked at the silver Uma Musume beneath her.
'Right... that's right. Why... why am I acting like this?'
'Starlight-chan always comes to comfort me. She always makes time to be with me, even indulging my unreasonable demands.'
'I... why am I like this...'
Suddenly, the door was pushed open.
A petite, black-haired Uma Musume wrapped in a bath towel walked in.
However, when her purple eyes landed on the scene before her, she froze.
Then, her voice rose with urgency:
"You... you! What are you doing to Starlight-chan?!"
A dazed Seiun Sky and the pinned-down Starlight both looked up at the same time.
In the next instant, Rice Shower acted on pure instinct.
She dashed over and shoved Seiun Sky aside with a single push, pulling Divine Starlight into her own embrace.
"D-don't worry, Starlight-chan! Ri-Rice will protect you..."
"I'm fine, Rice-chan. Don't worry, Sky-chan didn't mean to hurt me," Starlight consoled, patting the girl's head.
"B-but, she was just now..."
"Sky-chan was just playing around with me. Don't take it seriously, Rice-chan~"
"Eh... I-is that so?"
"Mhm~"
Standing up, Starlight took a few steps forward to help Seiun Sky up from the water.
"Are you okay, Sky-chan?"
Seiun Sky shook her head without saying a word.
"U-um, sorry... Ri-Rice didn't do it on purpose..."
"It's fine. It was my fault." Seiun Sky explained with a bitter smile.
"Stop. No one is at fault here, so stop taking the blame!"
Turning around, Starlight looked at the listless kitten before her. She cupped Sky's cheeks and spoke in a gentle tone.
"Sky-chan, regardless of whether you win or lose, and no matter who you're racing against, I will always be watching you. I will sincerely pray for you and look forward to your victory, so..."
"Do your best, okay?"
"...Mhm. Starlight-chan, I understand... There's training tomorrow, so I... I'll head back first."
Nodding, Seiun Sky kept her head down as she got up and left.
"D-did I do something wrong...?"
Seeing that she had mostly finished soothing one Uma only for the other one to start feeling sad, Starlight quickly sat down next to Rice Shower.
"How could you have~? Even though there was a misunderstanding, the fact that Rice could protect me right away was actually very cool."
"Really?"
"Of course."
Late that night, Seiun Sky lay in her bed.
She stared at the ceiling, completely unable to sleep. Her mind replayed the scene at the hot spring over and over.
Her face instantly flushed red.
She pulled the covers up to hide her face, muttering inwardly.
'How did it come to this... why did I impulsively do something like that? Even though Starlight-chan looks so soft and squishy—'
'No, no, no!'
"Agh, Seiun Sky!"
Trickle, trickle.
The sound of flowing liquid reached her ears.
Seiun Sky turned her head and was startled nearly out of her skin.
"Aaah... Y-you! Why aren't you asleep yet?"
There sat Manhattan Cafe, perched on her chair with her long black hair flowing.
She held a white mug in one hand and was pouring coffee from a pot with the other.
Her golden eyes looked over, appearing somewhat eerie in the dark.
"I... sleep very late. Would you like some coffee?"
Her low, flat voice drifted across the room, her white cowlick swaying twice in the air.
"Uh... no thanks. If you drink coffee this late, can you even sleep?"
"Is it not fine simply not to sleep?"
To her surprise, Manhattan Cafe gave a matter-of-fact answer.
With a twitch of her lips, Seiun Sky inhaled the aroma of coffee filling the air.
She scratched her hair and asked again, "Then what do you do when you're tired during the day? You still have to train, is that really okay?"
"Simple. When tired, drink coffee. It's refreshing."
'This... this...'
At a loss for words, Seiun Sky eventually lay back down silently in her quilt.
Compared to drinking coffee with the hardcore night owl in front of her, she felt that having a few embarrassing dreams was a much better alternative.