At night, strolling along a shaded path within the academy grounds, Yasui Makoto occasionally glanced sideways.
Beside him, Kitasan Black walked with her head down, fingers intertwined in front of her, completely oblivious to his gaze.
After the hot spring therapy, reviewing the training race, and having dinner together, the other Uma Musume had each bid their goodbyes and gone their separate ways.
Makoto had planned to drop Kitasan off at her dormitory before heading back to his apartment to analyze today's data, but her gentle suggestion—"Trainer, let's go for a walk"—had persuaded him to stay.
She must have something on her mind, he had thought at the time.
Based on past impressions, Kitasan was the type who rarely kept things bottled up. Usually, whatever crossed her mind would soon spill from her lips.
Yet, after wandering aimlessly for one or two hours now, he hadn't heard a single word from the girl next to him.
So, it's not just something she wants to say. She really does have something bothering her. Makoto concluded silently.
Kitasan Black indeed had something on her mind.
At this moment, Deep Impact's words from the afternoon kept swirling endlessly inside her head.
After mentioning the "risking one's life" part, that senpai had also admitted she wasn't in peak condition anymore.
At best, she might have come close to her prime during the last sprint of today's training race—when she'd briefly entered the [Domain].
But if you can't handle or surpass the intensity of the early or middle stages, discussing the [Domain] was meaningless.
Her senpai had also warned her that the [Domain] was something to be cautious about.
That state might seem mystical and mysterious—even those who've experienced it couldn't fully explain it—but those who touched it always had something they desperately wanted to grasp, no matter the cost.
Such as winning the Japanese Derby.
"I've probably put a lot of pressure on you by saying all this, but compared to the pressure you'll face in that race, this is nothing—at least that's how I see it."
Lastly, her senpai had said gently, "I'm not very good with words. If you have questions, I'll do my best to explain."
"You could also ask Special Week-senpai and the others. But I think your Trainer has probably already considered these things. You should talk with him."
"The rest... probably involves technical and tactical details. I'll discuss those with your Trainer later."
Does that mean I can only rely on my trainer and senpai…that I myself can't do anything more?
Risking everything, desperately wanting victory... that's something that should belong to me, isn't it?
Surely, I feel that way too, don't I?
All along... haven't I been working toward the Classic Triple Crown, trying to become an Uma Musume like Teio-senpai, to fulfill everyone's expectations?
So then, why…
"You're about to walk into a tree."
"...Eh? Ouch!"
A quiet, slightly amused voice suddenly came from beside her. Before she could even turn her head fully, Kitasan felt a sharp thud against her forehead.
Her eyes involuntarily filled with tears. Covering her forehead, she looked up dazedly.
In front of her stood a large tree, its trunk thick enough for several people to embrace. Its leaves rustled loudly, several green leaves fluttering down.
At about head-height on the dark-brown trunk, a few large flakes of bark were currently crackling loose and dropping off.
Beneath the fallen bark, a freshly exposed patch of pale wood revealed itself—its shape suspiciously matching that of her forehead.
"No way… You actually ran straight into it? Wait—you seriously didn't see it?"
The previously amused voice now panicked a bit. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she met Makoto's anxious gaze.
Gently cupping Kitasan's face with both hands, Yasui Makoto carefully studied her under the soft glow of moonlight and streetlamps.
The warm glow from the lamp illuminated her forehead, revealing a faint red mark right in the middle.
A few strands of her bangs stirred gently in the evening breeze, brushing against tears that trembled at the corners of her eyes before slowly soaking into that faint red bruise.
With a furrowed brow, Makoto tentatively reached out a finger, softly touching the edge of the red mark. Without thinking, he murmured softly:
"Does it hurt—Ow!"
Before he finished expressing his concern, a sudden, sharp pain shot through his wrist, making him inhale sharply.
He instinctively tried to pull back, but his wrist was locked firmly in place as though caught in a steel vise.
"I—I'm alright… But this tree is really hard, huh...?"
Kitasan replied blankly, then suddenly noticed her hand gripping Makoto's wrist without realizing it.
At the same time, she saw clearly how tightly her trainer's face had scrunched up, his eyebrows knitted in pain.
"S-Sorry! I-I didn't…"
Hurriedly releasing her grip, Kitasan anxiously inspected Makoto's wrist, just as he'd checked her forehead earlier. She stammered nervously:
"Trainer, a-are you alright? Does it hurt…?"
Taking several deep breaths, Makoto gently rubbed his wrist. Finding no swelling or lingering pain, he relaxed slightly. Looking back at Kitasan, he smiled wryly:
"I guess I'm okay. Seems my wrist is pretty sturdy too."
She stared blankly for a moment before realizing he was jokingly referring to what she'd just said about the tree. Frustration and inexplicable irritation welled up inside her.
"Trainer, honestly…! How can you joke about something like this?"
Rarely raising her voice this way, she bit her lower lip and lightly grasped Makoto's palm again. Gently yet insistently, she pulled it toward her, carefully inspecting it once more.
Moonlight filtered softly through the leaves above, clearly revealing five distinct, slightly reddened fingerprints running from his palm toward his wrist.
"Here…this is definitely swollen, right?"
Uncertainly voicing her worry, she carefully reached out a finger, softly tracing along the edge of those marks, gently pressing down at the center.
"Right? Isn't it swollen? Trainer…?"
Continuously and anxiously questioning, she lifted her head and suddenly froze.
She finally realized that she'd been so lost in thought earlier that she'd accidentally walked head-first into a tree.
When she first understood what happened, she'd felt slightly annoyed at Makoto.
He was walking right beside her, so why didn't he warn her sooner?
Yet almost immediately, she felt guilty about thinking that way.
After all, she had walked straight into it herself. Makoto had clearly warned her, but probably didn't have enough time to stop her completely.
And afterward, his eyes had been filled with genuine concern.
Now, those same eyes were focused on her again. Or perhaps more accurately, she found herself meeting that gaze again.
His expression was still deeply caring, but beyond that gentle warmth, there was now something else, something unfamiliar.
The moonlit shadows of leaves shimmering softly within those eyes looked like scattered stardust, reflecting faint silver lights that set her blood coursing with the heat of crossing a finish line.
An unfamiliar warmth flowed through her fingertips from the hand she held. The distant murmuring of a fountain suddenly sounded incredibly clear.
Her ears trembled slightly, her breath momentarily whisked away by the night breeze.
Suddenly lowering her head, she stared again at the fingerprint marks left on his wrist.
Noticing a new crescent-shaped indentation she'd just made at the center of those marks, she belatedly realized her thumb had been unconsciously stroking that tiny crescent shape.
W-wait…
T-this is…
What's going on…?
Questions raced uncontrollably through her mind, only to vanish just as quickly.
She didn't know why she hadn't thought deeply about it before. But instinctively, she sensed it was something she wouldn't understand even if she tried.
Since she wouldn't understand, she'd simply stop thinking about it. After all, she'd always done it this way.
Just as she settled that thought, she felt gentle fingertips lightly tapping her forehead, followed by a soft chuckle from above.
"You must've been really worn out by today's training race—you've been spacing out the entire evening…
"You should rest early tonight. Whatever's bothering you, let's talk about it tomorrow."