While Kagura was curiously watching the Umamusume training over there, she suddenly heard movement behind her. Her ears twitched on instinct, but before she could even turn her head, a pair of hands reached out from behind and covered her eyes. Then she felt a warm breath lightly brush past her ear, making her shiver.
"Hah~ Guess who?"
"Mr. C.B.!?"
Kagura recognized that distinctive voice almost at once and called out the name in surprise.
A moment later, the hands covering her eyes withdrew. Kagura turned her head and saw Mr. C.B. stepping out from behind the tree, crouching there behind her with a smile.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came out for a walk. I figured the park would be pretty quiet around this time, so it'd be a nice place to relax. Then I got here and saw you peeking around over here like a little squirrel. So? What's so interesting over there? Let your senpai have a look too."
As she spoke, Mr. C.B. slipped an arm around Kagura's shoulders and sat down beside her.
Maybe it was just Kagura's imagination, but Mr. C.B.'s complexion looked poor. It was not that she seemed listless exactly—more that she looked unwell, like someone coming down with something. As a doctor, Kagura was fairly sensitive to that kind of thing in a patient's face.
"You're looking at that Umamusume over there?"
"Ah... kind of. I was about to lie down here and enjoy the sun when I heard her running, so I got curious and sat up to look."
"That's Katsuragi Ace. She's in my year. She specializes in the Front Runner style. Her running's just like she is herself—bold and rough around the edges."
Mr. C.B. knew a fair bit about the better-known students around school, so seeing Kagura's curiosity, she introduced the girl for her. At the same time, she hugged Kagura around the shoulders, nuzzled against her face, and rubbed her stomach.
"Oh... Listening from here, I really thought someone was literally named ACE... And don't start rubbing all over me the second you get here! That tickles!"
"Well, it's been a while since I last saw you~ I watched your race the other day too. You left everyone so far behind—seriously impressive. So what race are you planning next?"
"If nothing goes wrong... probably the Hopeful Stakes and the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes? Though speaking of that..."
Twisting and squirming a bit, Kagura slipped free of Mr. C.B.'s arms and shifted slightly away, then took a careful look at the older girl still sitting there with an awkward smile.
She had been bothered by Mr. C.B.'s complexion from the moment she first saw her. She knew that before long, Mr. C.B. and Rudolf would be racing together in the Japan Cup. Not long ago, she had also heard that Mr. C.B. had won the autumn Tenno Sho. To gather information on Rudolf's rivals, Kagura had watched the race recording as well.
Although Mr. C.B. had taken the win then, Kagura had felt throughout the replay that something about her was off. She had not been able to put her finger on it. But now, seeing her in person and looking more closely, Kagura felt she finally understood where that sense of wrongness in the video had come from.
"Mr. C.B., let me ask you something. Have you been running lately? And when you do, have you felt anything off anywhere?"
"Hm? Why are you suddenly asking that? If you mean if anything feels wrong... then yes, kind of. But I can't really describe what the feeling is."
"Then..."
Under Mr. C.B.'s puzzled gaze, Kagura walked over in front of her and, unusually for her, suddenly reached out and grabbed hold of her. Mr. C.B. reflexively tried to move, only to discover that the little girl's grip was surprisingly strong—she could not budge at all.
"Your complexion is awful right now. Didn't your trainer say anything to you?"
"My complexion? But I don't feel especially unwell anywhere..."
"If you wait until you can clearly feel it, then the problem's already serious!! Don't move. I'm going to give you a basic checkup right now!"
Before Mr. C.B. could finish, Kagura cut her off.
For the first time, Mr. C.B. felt an oppressive force from the kouhai standing before her that was completely unlike Kagura's usual self—like Rudolf standing there in full aura. She was startled. To think gentle, kind Inari Kagura could give off such frightening pressure too.
Kagura firmly held Mr. C.B. down where she sat, then sat down in front of her and began examining her, touching here and there over her body. Mr. C.B. did not understand what Kagura was trying to do, but she did not resist either. She simply watched her quietly. Kagura was someone she could trust, and perhaps once all this was over, she would come away with something unexpected.
Still... the look on my kouhai's face right now is honestly kind of scary...
Watching Kagura's brows knit tighter and tighter, even Mr. C.B., who had not been worried at first, began to feel a little panicked.
After ten minutes or so, Kagura finally took her hands away from Mr. C.B.'s arm. She sighed with a frown, then lifted her head again.
"Open your mouth."
"Uh... well... even I would feel a little embarrassed about that..."
"Be good and let me see."
After hesitating for a few seconds, Mr. C.B. obediently opened her mouth. Kagura lifted a hand to steady her face and leaned in close to examine her carefully, making the still-completely-confused Mr. C.B. tense up all over again.
Wait... what is my kouhai trying to do!? Isn't this progressing a little too fast? N-no, that can't be right... there's no way she's thinking anything like that...
With Kagura's face so close to hers, all sorts of strange thoughts began popping up in Mr. C.B.'s head.
A short while later, Kagura finally released her and did not issue any more instructions. It looked as though she had finished doing whatever it was she wanted to do—or so Mr. C.B. thought.
Without warning, Kagura suddenly jabbed a finger into her side. Mr. C.B. jolted violently, lost her balance, and rolled straight onto the ground.
"Hah... just as I thought. Tell me honestly—how long has it been since you got proper rest? How long since you ate a proper meal? Have you been living on fast food again this whole time?"
"Eh... ah... w-well... only—two months..."
"Is your body something to be treated this carelessly!? What has your trainer been doing? Why was he allowing you to live in such a complete mess!?"
"Um... ah... my kouhai..."
Completely overwhelmed by Kagura's stern expression and forceful presence, Mr. C.B. could not even put a proper sentence together. Most of the time, for the sake of convenience, she rarely explained the details of her condition to her trainer. She had figured this little discomfort would pass if she endured it for a while. The problem did not seem that serious, so she had just gone on as usual.
"I see... then since I happened to run into you today, I'll write something up for you. You can pass it along to your trainer for me. But before that... come here. Lie down."
"Oh... okay..."
It seemed Kagura had, at least for the moment, redirected the force of her scolding. Mr. C.B. had no idea what Kagura meant to do. Then she looked at her and saw Kagura, still seated, patting her own lap as if to say, Lie here.
My kouhai is... going to give me a lap pillow!? Huh!?
Even someone as easygoing and rough-edged as Mr. C.B. could get embarrassed after being put through all this. But Kagura looked so firm and resolute that refusing somehow did not feel like an option, so in the end she obediently lay down with her head in Kagura's lap.
"Ah... um... thank you?"
Even through the fabric of Kagura's long skirt, Mr. C.B. could feel the warmth of her body. Kagura had a pleasant scent about her—not the milky smell of a child, but something Mr. C.B. could not really describe. Once she was lying there, though, she felt incredibly comfortable and relaxed. A soft presence seemed to envelop her, and she felt... calm.
"What you need most right now is a good sleep. Everything else can be dealt with afterward."
Kagura's voice had finally returned to its usual gentleness. Mr. C.B. started to say something, but Kagura had already lifted a hand and gently stroked across her face before covering her eyes, cutting off the words before they could come out.
And then Mr. C.B. understood what her kouhai was trying to do.
She wanted her to sleep properly.
With her body basking in the warm sunlight and the breeze neither too strong nor too weak, and with Kagura's gentle soothing touch calming her, Mr. C.B. relaxed very quickly. She could tell Kagura was soothing her the same way one would soothe a child before bed, and while that pricked her pride just a little, she did not dislike being treated that way by Kagura. After a short spell of tension, she let herself loosen and simply enjoyed the feel of Kagura's hand lightly stroking her head.
"Relax... close your eyes. Let go. Imagine yourself floating on the surface of the water. Warm sunlight is shining down over you. A sea breeze brushes gently past your side. The sky is blue, so beautiful... You can hear the waves in the distance, now and then, and the cry of seabirds... soft, peaceful..."
"You're far too tired... so let go, and get some proper rest now."
The sound of the seaside—Kagura had recorded it during summer training camp for use as white noise when she had free time. Now, at least, it was finally proving useful.
She could feel it beneath her palm: Mr. C.B.'s body, tense only moments ago, gradually relaxed. Before long, steady breathing sounded from her, and it was obvious just how exhausted she truly had been.
How can anyone abuse their body this badly for so long and still keep racing...?
Letting out a small breath of relief, Kagura adjusted her position slightly to make Mr. C.B. more comfortable, then took out her phone and opened her notes app, fingers tapping rapidly over the screen.
...
Mr. C.B. dreamed.
In that hazy state, she seemed to return to the summer training camp she had gone to with her trainer not long ago. She was floating alone on the sea in an inner tube, enjoying the rare luxury of a true day off.
Only this time, there was no training waiting for her. She was simply lying there and resting.
She drifted on the sea. No one called for her. No one gave her orders. Suspended between the wide-open sky and sea, her exhausted body emptied itself of thought, doing its best to savor this rare, fleeting silence.
She had no sense of how much time passed.
When consciousness finally returned to her, the first thing she saw was still a vast blue sky without a cloud in it.
The angle of the sunlight had shifted, though—it looked like afternoon now. Mr. C.B. rubbed her eyes. She felt as though she were lying on something warm and soft. Reaching back on instinct, she immediately saw a little head pop into view in front of her.
"Did you sleep well?"
Kagura looked into Mr. C.B.'s eyes with a smile as she asked.
"Ah... Kagura... are you here at camp too...?"
Still not fully awake, Mr. C.B. blurted it out without thinking.
Then, remembering that she should still be in a swimsuit, she jolted and tried to sit up—only to find, when she lifted her head, that she was still wearing her usual training clothes. Looking dazed, she scratched her head, and only then did it come back to her:
She was not at summer training camp.
She was in the park near Tracen.
"Pff... you really were out of it, weren't you? This isn't the seaside."
"N-no, sorry! I mixed things up for a second!! Um... how long was I asleep!?"
Remembering that Kagura had been giving her a lap pillow this whole time, Mr. C.B. hurriedly sat up, then stood. Looking at the sky, she could tell her earlier impression had been right—it was already afternoon now. She remembered coming here sometime before noon. If she counted it up, that meant she had slept for over two hours.
"Are your legs okay!?"
"I changed positions and relaxed them partway through, so I'm fine. Please don't worry~"
Seeing that Mr. C.B. was finally up, Kagura no longer held that same posture. She carefully used the tree for support as she stood, and thanks to having adjusted and relaxed during the process, she managed to avoid any awkward moment of being unable to get up.
Looking at Kagura's smile, bright as sunlight, Mr. C.B. felt a surge of emotion. She froze completely—truly froze, her head going blank.
"Do you feel better now?"
"Ah..."
Only when Kagura prompted her did Mr. C.B. realize how light her body felt now. The fogginess in her head was gone, and the leaden heaviness in her legs had eased considerably. It was like she had just had an incredibly high-end massage.
At that point, she finally understood: everything Kagura had done just now had been part of the "treatment," meant to ease her discomfort.
A warm feeling spread through her chest.
"...I... I feel much better. Thank you, Kagura!"
She wanted to pull the adorable little angel in front of her into a hug and place a light kiss on her cheek, but that would have been far too rude, and no matter how she thought about it, this was not the time for that.
Seeing Mr. C.B. finally looking lively again, Kagura at last let out a relieved breath. She tapped away on her phone for a while, and a moment later, Mr. C.B.'s phone chimed with a DM notification.
She took it out and looked. Kagura had sent her a block of text. She could not really make sense of the details, but there were a lot of ingredients and proportions listed in it. It looked almost like some kind of recipe.
"Kagura... what is this?"
"Take it back and show it to your trainer. And please—absolutely, honestly, and completely—tell your trainer everything about your condition. He'll definitely know what I've sent him."
To emphasize the point, Kagura put extra weight on several of those words.
Mr. C.B. nodded repeatedly. She had no idea what Kagura had given her, since she was neither a support specialist nor a doctor, but she knew Kagura had only done all this because she wanted what was best for her.
"I understand! I'll be careful! Thank you!"
"Off you go, then~ I should head home too~ If you want to find me over the next few days, you can come by the Symboli Household. I'll probably be there."
"Okay!"
Only after Mr. C.B. nodded hard to show she understood did Kagura wave goodbye, then turn and leave the shade of the trees, heading back the way she had come.
Watching Kagura go, Mr. C.B. did her best to suppress the stirrings in her heart. She knew all these messy thoughts were far too inappropriate.
Her kouhai had not even reached honkaku yet.
My kouhai... she really is like an angel...
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T/N: :sob: mr. c. b. throw away those impure thoughtssss!