Unknowingly, the two had already reached the fork in the road near Kitano’s apartment.
He looked at the apartment building, just a stone’s throw away, and thinking of his newly arrived treasures, he casually extended an invitation: “Oh, I’m here.
Want to come up for a bit?
I recently found a few more great vinyl records, and Enigma’s The Cross of Changes has arrived too.
The sound quality is absolutely fantastic.”
He knew Rice Shower liked music.
Previously, due to his strong recommendations, his enthusiasm even greater than that of a fervent Uma Musume fan, though he himself was unaware, he had given her the original vinyl records of Enigma’s first four albums, hoping she could appreciate the charm of this music.
“Eh?
Go, go to Kitano-kun’s house?!”
The invitation was like a giant rock thrown into a calm lake.
Rice Shower instantly froze; the slight blush that had just faded from her cheeks rapidly deepened to a fiery red before his eyes, and wisps of invisible steam seemed to genuinely rise from her head!
Her brain seemed to overload from processing the information of going to a boy’s house, and her eyes started to look dazed.
Kitano looked at her in this state, greatly astonished.
“Holy cow!
The exaggerated steam-coming-from-the-head trope in anime is actually real?!
No, no, no matter what, this is too ridiculous?!
How shy must she be to produce such a physiological phenomenon?!”
Out of concern for his friend, and potential health risks, he quickly asked, “Rice Shower?
Are you okay?
Your face is so red, and… steaming?
Do you want to go to the hospital?”
“Wah—!” Rice Shower let out a short cry of distress, forcefully pulled back from her frozen state by Kitano’s words.
“No, no need!
I’m, I’m fine!
Completely fine!”
She desperately needed a reason to escape the embarrassing situation, incoherently making excuses.
“Ah!
Oh, right!
I remember!
Training!
Rice Shower still needs to go back to training!
Although I really want to go to Kitano-kun’s house to listen to records!
But!
N-next time!
Definitely!”
Before she finished speaking, she didn’t even dare to look at Kitano again, directly using her explosive power as a top Uma Musume.
With wind beneath her feet, she whooshed away like a startled phantom, instantly disappearing at the end of the street, leaving only a gentle breeze brushing Kitano’s face.
Kitano watched her disappear, his words “Then you must come next time” not yet fully spoken.
He could only smile helplessly and muttered, “That speed… truly an Uma Musume…”
He shook his head and turned to go home.
However, just as he took a step, he heard a rush of hurried footsteps behind him.
He turned back in confusion, only to see the figure float back like a wisp of smoke; it was Rice Shower, who had returned.
She stopped a few meters away, her hands tightly clutching the hem of her clothes, her cheeks still crimson, and her breathing a little ragged from the rapid running.
But she looked up, summoning all the courage she had ever had, and looked at Kitano with her sparkling purple eyes, her voice trembling but exceptionally serious as she said:
“I, I will definitely go!
Next time!”
“Rice Shower, wait a moment.”
Rice Shower immediately stopped, looking at him with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.
Kitano looked at her, a faint, encouraging smile on his face.
“I will be at the Tenno Sho (Spring), in the stands.
So, you must work hard.”
These words seemed to possess magic, instantly dispelling most of the shyness and unease from Rice Shower’s face.
Her eyes suddenly lit up, as if stars had fallen into them.
The joy of being witnessed and anticipated by an important person made her whole being radiate brilliance.
She nodded vigorously, almost ecstatically, her voice filled with unprecedented vitality:
“Yes!
Kitano-kun!
Rice Shower, Rice Shower will definitely give it her all!
So you can see Rice Shower’s best run!”
Having said that, as if all her courage was spent and she was filled with immense happiness, she once again transformed into a blue streak, zipping away with a whoosh even faster than before.
This time, she truly disappeared completely.
Kitano stood in place, looking in the direction Rice Shower had vanished, stunned for a few seconds, then couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle.
“This girl… she really is cute,” he thought to himself.
He mused, “It seems Rice Shower’s inferiority complex and shyness won’t change overnight.
As a trusted friend, I’ll have to create more opportunities for her to relax a bit more.”
With these thoughts, a mix of helplessness, amusement, and a faint sense of responsibility, Kitano finally turned and slowly walked toward home.
The setting sun cast his long shadow, and this unexpected encounter today seemed to add an unusually vivid color to his ordinary daily life.
It really helps the fic grow!