The sun dipped toward the horizon. After an entire afternoon of beach activities, the Umamusume finally took a breather. But instead of heading back to their rooms, they began setting up a barbecue on the sand for the evening.
Kagura, wanting some quiet, didn't linger on the beach. She slipped off alone to the shoreline and waded in, letting the sea hold her.
This is nice… You put on a swimsuit, you've gotta get in the water at least once.
Floating on her back, she watched the multicolored evening glow slowly climb the sky. After letting herself cut loose all afternoon, sleepiness crept in; Kagura yawned. The calm surface, the rise and fall of the surf, the endless sky—there was something genuinely soothing about it.
Then, suddenly, she sensed an unusual disturbance beneath the water behind her. She'd been about to close her eyes for a short doze, but instinct made her shift. The moment she pushed back up to standing, she heard a splash—then a pair of hands covered her eyes, and the back of her head sank into something soft and tender.
"Heave-ho~! Kagura~ Guess who I am?"
"Ardan-ojousama… You actually pull jokes like this? But your voice is way too distinctive. I'd know it was you even blind."
Hearing Ardan's voice, Kagura finally exhaled. The tension drained from her body all at once.
"Hehe. I wasn't really expecting to fool someone who lives with me day in and day out~"
"Speaking of which…"
Relaxing, Kagura turned without thinking—only to get hit with a full-on chest bump. Ardan was wearing the school swimsuit today, but that uniform cut did nothing to hide her round, voluptuous figure. If anything, it made it… oddly more suggestive.
"What is it, Kagura?"
When Kagura abruptly went quiet, Ardan tilted her head and patted her shoulder.
Lowering her gaze, Ardan noticed Kagura's eyes flicking back and forth between her own chest and Kagura's. It wasn't hard to guess what Kagura was thinking. Ardan chuckled and lifted a hand to ruffle Kagura's damp hair.
"Come on. Once you hit honkaku, you'll grow too."
"No… I think this unlucky body of mine probably doesn't have a future…"
Kagura sighed. She'd seen Eclipse grown up. She knew exactly what Eclipse looked like when she matured—and that made it hard to feel hopeful.
"Don't overthink it~ Kagura, want to come with me?"
"Together… to do what?"
"Over there~"
Ardan pointed toward a huge swim ring—more like an inflatable raft—floating not far out on the water. She'd spent the whole afternoon lying on it.
"The weather's gorgeous, and there's still some time before the beach activities pick back up. Want to sit out there and watch for a bit?"
"Uh…"
Kagura glanced at it. Two people would fit, sure—but it would be tight.
"It looks kind of narrow. If you don't mind squeezing in with someone else… I don't mind."
"Don't mind at all~ Come on, come on~"
...
On the inflatable drifting across the sea, one big Umamusume and one small lay close together, rising and falling gently with the waves, gazing up as the sky deepened and stars began to show.
The space really wasn't large. But thanks to Kagura's petite frame, Ardan only had to adjust her posture a little to make it work.
And since they were both in swimsuits, lying this close, Ardan could clearly feel the slick, tender touch of the skin beside her—cool, smooth, almost slippery, impossibly soft. A strange sensation swelled in her chest, the same as that night on the Mejiro estate's grasslands, making her heartbeat quicken.
She wanted to free one hand, loop it around the little Umamusume's shoulders, pull her into her arms—wanted, absurdly, to nibble her shoulder, or leave some kind of mark on her snow-white neck…
Chaotic thoughts stampeded through Ardan's mind like a herd of alpacas galloping across open pasture, leaving her a little dizzy.
"Ardan-ojousama, look—the moon's up."
"Ah…"
That young, clear voice dragged Ardan back from the whirlpool in her head. The seawater that occasionally lapped near her ear cooled her further into clarity. She saw Kagura shift beside her and raise a finger toward the sky.
Ardan followed the gesture—and there it was. A round moon hanging above them.
"I never really pay attention to the sky normally. But stopping like this once in a while, lying down and looking at the night… it's really nice! You found a view like this—Ardan-ojousama, you've got an extraordinary eye. Thank you for inviting me. If you hadn't, I probably wouldn't have stopped to look, and I'd have missed something this beautiful."
Suspended between sea and sky, Kagura felt her mind open up, her whole body loosen. Honestly, taking the time to pause and look—sometimes it was exactly the reset you needed. And thanks to Ardan's invitation, she'd found a way to enjoy herself she might never have discovered.
"Hehe. It's a secret I found these past few days. If you like it, Kagura… then I'm really happy."
Kagura's praise filled Ardan with a bright, sweet satisfaction—like tasting a dessert Kagura had made with her own hands. She couldn't tell if she was happy because she'd shared a secret with a friend… or because of something else entirely.
"…Oh, right. Kagura—since we've got a chance like this… want to take some photos?"
"Photos? Sure. What kind do you want?"
They'd both brought their phones. To use them by the water, they'd even bought waterproof pouches—finally getting their money's worth now.
Ardan picked up her phone and thought for a moment. She raised it with her left hand, then lifted her right and flashed a V sign at the sky.
"Do the same pose, Kagura~ I'll frame the sky and both our hands~"
"Okay~"
Kagura lifted a hand and made a V as well, then edged a little closer to Ardan. Maybe it was her imagination, but Ardan's body seemed to tremble faintly.
In the shot, beneath a deep blue canopy, the two of them raised their hands together. Above them, the newly risen moon sat perfectly in place.
"Say cheese~"
Ardan's voice, just a touch tight, gave the cue as she pressed the shutter.
"Ooh—this looks really good! Ardan-ojousama, you really know how to pick an angle. Can you send me one later~?"
"Of course I'll send you a copy. And—well, since it isn't completely dark yet and there's still a bit of afterglow… should we… take a selfie too?"
Ardan didn't know where the idea came from. By the time she realized it, she'd already said it out loud.
"Sure~ But remember to send me that one too!"
"I will!"
Nodding firmly, Ardan adjusted the phone. The camera view filled with both of them.
"Kagura, um… could you… come a little closer? Just… a little?"
"Sure~"
Kagura didn't hesitate. She leaned into Ardan's shoulder, lifted her hand in front of her face in a V, and smiled softly.
Ardan, looking into the lens, went still for a beat.
Then she snapped back, tilting her head and leaning in toward Kagura's hair, mirroring Kagura's pose. In the frame, the two Umamusume pressed close together, smiling brightly—happy as could be. Maybe it was the lingering glow of the sunset, but Ardan's fair cheeks looked rosy.
"Three, two, one—chee~se~!"
---
T/N: huehuehueh
T/N2: heres ur updates :3 meeting the 4 chaps a week quota :3
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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