A/N: The race schedule is so confusing!! Anyone who has played the game, come up with a proper schedule, please?
Anyways, daily check-ins~
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Night settled over the dorm in a soft, muffled way, the room lit only by the pale glow of Silver Tear's phone. The replay ran again, low volume, the tinny echo of hooves and cheers barely breaking the quiet of the night.
She lay on her bed, eyes half-focused, thumb tapping the screen the moment the race concluded, sending it back to the start as if repetition might sand down whatever was lodged in her chest.
Across the room, Grani shifted beneath her blanket, fabric rustling. "…You're still awake?"
"Yeah." Silver Tear did not look away.
Grani let out a slow breath, more tired than irritated. "You won't sleep like that."
"Probably not." Silver Tear finally turned her head toward her roommate, and an idea suddenly popped into her head.
There was a brief pause.
Then her mattress creaked as she stood, crossed the narrow space between the beds, and dragged her blanket along with her.
She climbed onto Grani's bed with the absolute confidence of someone who had done this before and saw no reason to make it awkward.
Grani felt the weight dip beside her and stiffened. "…Silver-chan."
Silver Tear slipped in behind her, fitting close with easy familiarity. One arm wrapped around Grani's waist, loose but secure, and her chin rested lightly against the crown of Grani's head. A curtain of her blonde hair spilled over Grani's shoulder, carrying the faint sweet scent of shampoo.
"Your bed's warmer, senpai~"
The mere word 'senpai' dealt true damage to Grani. It was not fair how Silver Tear could say it with that alluring tone so easily!!
Grani went rigid, heat rising to her face.
"...That's not how this works. Go back to your bed." She muttered, attempting to salvage some senior authority that had already evaporated.
However, her resistance was futile all along. The moment Silver Tear climbed onto her bed, it was essentially over. She wouldn't return to her own bed no matter what Grani said.
"It is, though." Silver Tear replied lightly, settling in as if she had always belonged there, her grip tightening just enough to make Grani yelp in quiet embarrassment.
Grani was suddenly very aware of how close Silver Tear was.
Silver Tear shifted, adjusting herself until she was more comfortably tucked in. She noticed, of course, how Grani's horse ears had gone a deep red and kept twitching at every word. That only made it harder for Silver Tear to resist teasing her senpai.
"I can't sleep unless I'm holding something."
The way she said it was almost a whine, soft and unguarded, and Grani, to her own quiet frustration, felt herself giving in.
Grani swallowed. "You say that so casually."
"It's just how it is." Silver Tear did not let go.
With Grani held against her, she angled the phone just enough to keep the screen in view, the replay rolling on in a dim ribbon of light across the blankets. Hooves thundered softly from the speaker, muffled to a whisper, and the finish line flashed by again.
Her thumb hovered, ready to play it once more.
Grani's thoughts were still scattered, caught between the warmth at her back and the quiet weight of Silver Tear's arm around her. She drew a slow breath, forcing some order back into herself.
"Silver-chan." She murmured, her voice low so it wouldn't sound like a scold.
"You're going to burn yourself out."
No answer, just the soft click of the replay restarting.
Grani shifted just enough to reach up and press a hand over the phone, darkening the screen. Silver Tear tensed slightly, but did not pull away.
"Sleep, Silver-chan." Grani said more firmly this time. "You have early training tomorrow. Right now, you need to rest."
There was a brief pause.
Silver Tear's hold tightened, not in protest so much as quiet reluctance, and her forehead came to rest lightly against the back of Grani's head.
"…Just one more." She muttered weakly.
"You already watched it the whole night." Grani replied. This time, she did not yield.
She could feel it now, the way Silver Tear's obsession clung to this single race, looping and looping until it stopped being a reflection and started becoming unhealthy.
She carefully eased the phone from Silver Tear's hand and set it on the bedside table, the screen finally going dark.
"Close your eyes."
The room fell into a deeper silence without the replay's faint noise. After a moment, Silver Tear let out a long, slow breath.
Her grip loosened, and she settled more fully against Grani, the restlessness in her body finally beginning to ebb.
"…Fine." She conceded quietly, still tucked close.
Grani stayed still, letting the steady rhythm of their breathing take over. It did not take long before Silver Tear's hold shifted from restless to slack as her weight sank into the mattress.
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Morning arrived.
Pale light slipped through the curtains, cutting across the room and landing squarely on Silver Tear's face.
She groaned and buried herself deeper against Grani's back, one arm tightening reflexively. Her ears flattened, twitching in clear protest.
"…Five more minutes." She muttered, voice rough and half-swallowed by the blanket.
Grani was already awake.
She lay still for a moment, registering the extra weight and the way Silver Tear had effectively turned her into a body pillow. "I remember you said that 3 times already."
Silver Tear did not respond. Instead, she shifted closer, pressing her forehead between Grani's shoulder blades and attempting to disappear. Any trace of last night's obsession was gone, replaced by pure, stubborn lethargy.
Training plans? Schedules? responsibility?
None of it seemed to exist in her world right now.
"Silver-chan. You have early training." Grani said kindly.
A faint, incoherent sound came from behind her, something between a whine and a refusal.
"Mornings are hostile to me."
Grani sighed, carefully disentangling one arm.
"Are you a vampire?" She reached for the edge of the blanket.
Silver Tear reacted instantly.
With a low, offended sound, she rolled onto her side and wrapped the fabric around herself like a lifeline, legs hooking in to anchor it down. Her tail flicked in defiance, ears pinned flat as if she were bracing for an actual assault.
Grani warned, already tugging. "Get up, Silver-chan."
The blanket did not budge. Silver Tear tightened her grip, clinging with surprising strength for someone who claimed to be half-asleep, her face pressed into the pillow as though hiding might somehow nullify reality itself.
"No, I refuse."
Grani pulled harder. The blanket slid inch by inch, exposing one shoulder, then an arm.
Silver Tear made a small, indignant noise and doubled down, kicking lightly against the mattress in a last stand that had all the drama of a final battle and none of the dignity.
"This is violence!! This Uma Musume cannot endure such a cruel world."
"Clearly you can." Grani replied, unamused, giving one final tug.
The blanket came free.
Silver Tear lay there, sprawled and blinking in the morning light, hair a mess, ears drooping in defeat. She stared up at the ceiling for a long second, expression completely blank.
"…I have lost. This world is indeed cruel and unfair for this Uma Musume." She said at last, tone utterly deadpan.
Grani swung her legs off the bed. "Get dressed."
Silver Tear let out a dramatic, long sigh and got up at last.
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A/N: I predict that you're smiling when reading this chapter!! There're high chance you read this while being alone on your bed at night.