Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The alarm went off as it was supposed to.

Ayabe found herself dragging her eyes open a moment after the rest of her body already responded to the call. She found herself clutching onto her tail again. She quickly let go.

She next registered the dull light peering through closed curtains. Hm? Shouldn’t it…?

As she sat up on her bed, she felt a similar amount of fatigue as she did to the morning yesterday. Strange, the training she did yesterday wasn’t nearly as intense on her body as the power training on Saturday so why was her body still lethargic?

She supposed Curren was right after all: some things were indeed starting to catch up to her.

Ayabe stepped off the bed and turned to the source of the shrill noise. She pressed the button on top to silence it once more, taking note of the time displayed: 5:30AM.

It seemed as though this new alarm clock was consistent if nothing else.

Ayabe grabbed the curtains next and pulled them apart, brow furrowing at the sight of overcast skies once again.

“I could have sworn it said…” Ayabe muttered to herself quietly, careful not to wake Curren. She took a hold of her phone and upon seeing the date, she became truly befuddled.

December 18th? Ayabe frowned. She squinted, rubbed her eyes, the date stayed true.

She opened the weather app to find that it too, listed today as the 18th. She raised an eyebrow as she read through the exact same forecast as yesterday, overcast mornings, clear tomorrows and all. Surely her phone couldn’t already be going through a glitch of some kind was it? It wasn’t as though she used it often.

Sighing, she turned around and began to make for the bathroom. She stopped. The bags from yesterday were nowhere to be seen.

She could have sworn she saw Curren leave a paper bag or two by the foot of her bed before they turned in for the night. Perhaps she got up in the middle of the night and cleared them out? She had to imagine that Curren took care of the room more often than she did.

A flash of guilt struck at her then. She shook her head, brushed some loose strands of her hair over her shoulder and headed towards the showers.

Ayabe wished the skies had cleared this morning. 

Running down the road, she couldn’t help but realise just how much she had been looking forward to jogging under that blue canopy. The cold wind was welcome at least, she idly thought to herself as she pushed against the light air resistance.

Ayabe felt her brain coming online again, shaking off the last dredges of sleep that had clogged her thinking processes. She began to wonder: what should she do today?

Some more light training was a given, she had to make sure her body would be able to keep up with her before she returned to racing, such as she was doing right now. But…

“Oh right. There should be classes today.” The wrong date on her phone and the same weather as the day before really threw off her internal clock for a moment. She turned towards the sky, if she squinted, she could have sworn that some of the cloud formations were exactly the same as she saw yesterday.

That wouldn’t be the end of the familiarity she would come across however.

“Oh! Ayabe-San! I didn’t think I’d see you here!”

“Hm?” Ayabe looked down towards the cheerful voice coming down the road in response, there she was again. Narita Top Road, performing the same knee-high stretch as yesterday. Her hair still shimmering slightly against the gray above.

Her heartbeat began to spike again. “I didn’t think I’d see you again today.” Ayabe commented as she slowed to a stop next to Top Road, having to quickly say something to distract herself from the hammering in her chest.

“Huh? Again?” Top Road dropped her knee to stare at Ayabe in confusion. “Um, Ayabe-san, the last time we met each other was yesterday, after we left for our dorm rooms.”

She blinked. “Hold on, you really don’t remember meeting here yesterday?”

“Y-Yeah. I’m pretty sure I didn’t run into you yesterday.” Top Road scratched the back of her head, she was still smiling, albeit worriedly now.

“Um, Ayabe-san, have you been feeling alright lately? You’ve been acting a bit strange lately…” Top Road asked, setting her hand down by her side.

Ayabe brought her own up to the bridge of her nose and pinched before sighing, perhaps she was still feeling foggy after all. “No, I’ve been fine lately. I think.” She caught herself at the end, lest she sound too sharp.

She looked over Top Road then, her complexion was flushed, she seemed to be intaking more air than she should be for an early morning run at this point. Either she was pushing herself harder than she should be for a warm up or she had been here for longer than was healthy.

Neither were good options, of course.

“This might not mean much coming from me, but you should take it easier on yourself.” Ayabe spoke, crossing her arms and beginning staring down Top Road sternly, as if she was a teacher ready to scold an overworking student.

The ever diligent class rep withered under the gaze, but Ayabe continued. “I didn’t say anything yesterday because it wasn’t my business, but I’ll say it now: you’re pushing yourself too hard.”

Top Road stiffened at that. There was still a bit of confusion left regarding what Ayabe had said about the day before, but she absorbed the words fully.

She remained silent for a long moment, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly, a struggle to find the words she wanted to use in rebuke.

She settled on some, eventually. 

“I..I have to do this much, at least.” Top Road closed her fist into a grip. “I have to keep going, keep giving it my all, so that I won’t let everyone down now.” Her eyes blazed with determination, but there was a haunting shadow in them as well.

Let everyone down now. Ayabe mulled over these words. They spoke of a road traveled on, one that the traveler had been ascending, far past the top; to stop now would be a disappointment to the ones looking over the challenger.

Ayabe knew the name of that peak, the summit known as the Kikuka Sho. Where she had watched that challenger go far beyond her to claim that final crown. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know how Top Road felt, she had been in a similar situation herself up until recently, even if they weren’t one-to-one in similarity.

It was exactly because she knew how she felt that he had to step now in.

“And you won’t be able to do much for them if you’re not well, Top Road-san.” Ayabe’s expression softened. “Is pushing yourself this hard what they would want?”

“No, it’s not, but-!” Top Road began to respond.

“Stop right there. That ‘no’. You’ve got your answer.” Ayabe spoke with a tone firm enough to match the asphalt they were standing on. “They wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself for their sake.”

Top Road’s eyes widened in what almost seemed like desperation to Ayabe. She opened her mouth, about to retort, but whatever she was about to say was cut off by a sudden boom that thundered from behind Ayabe.

She quickly pivoted on the spot towards the noise, a lack of smoke coming from that direction. Wait, didn’t this also happen yesterday?

Top Road quickly snapped to attention. “Nevermind, Ayabe-san, we need to check what happened there!” She said before breaking into a run toward the district.

Ayabe for her part, stood befuddled for a moment before sprinting after her. This really was all beginning to feel a bit familiar.

The Geyser bursting from the ground, the rainbow formed over the manmade rain covering the streets, the strewn about apples. The onlookers gawking at the scene. Blinking, Ayabe could even make out the family of cats running off down the road, darting between the strewn about debris and collapsed fittings.

The scene was, much like the water catching the light peeking through the clouds, as clear as she had remembered it.

She brought a hand up to her head as her eyes landed on Agnes Digital, pulling Doto away from the scene as she had yesterday. This was all starting to give her a headache.

“Doto-san!” Top Road cried out from her side, dashing in to help the pair. “Are you alright?! What happened here?!” She grabbed onto Doto, helping Digital keep her standing, uncaring of the rain falling onto her now.

There she is. Ayabe thought to herself as she pulled out her phone, beginning to dial in the number for emergency services. There’s the ever reliable Top Road.

“A-And that’s pretty much everything that happened…” Doto muttered from the bed, her hands relaxing on the pink sheets that covered her. Ayabe, Top Road and Agnes Digital were all standing by her bed. Somehow, they found themselves in the same public ward as yesterday, right down to the room and bed number. The chain of events Doto described was identical to the one she had described yesterday too. Ayabe didn’t quite understand how one could go through the exact same accident twice but Doto was one who always found herself in extraordinary circumstances regardless.

“I guess we should give the repair crew more credit then, for being able to put the street back together so quickly after yesterday.” Ayabe idly commented. An attempt to lighten Doto’s spirits.

This only drew confusion from the other three in the room. “Y-Yesterday?” Doto asked, perplexed.

“Sigh, Not you too…” Ayabe sighed. 

“Oh right, Ayabe-san’s been talking about how a lot of things that have happened today are just like yesterday.” Top Road chimed in. She cupped her chin and quickly checked her own recollections. “But I’m pretty sure all of this only happened today.” 

“Ooooooh…this sounds like something out of a manga! Or a movie!” Digital said, her eyes beginning to shine with inspiration.

“Huh?” Ayabe cocked her head towards Digital.

“There’s a sub genre of stories in which the protagonist finds themselves trapped in a time loop, living the same day again and again…” Digitan began to explain, her eyes seemingly shining with stars as she tapped into her wealth of otaku knowledge.

“These kinds of stories usually start with the protagonist going about their day innocuously, nothing too unusual for them happens, and then suddenly! They wake up the next day and find that everything is repeating just as it happened the day before!” Digital cried out, her voice rising to a fever pitch as she did so.

“Quiet down, there’s other patients in this ward too.” Ayabe hissed at Digital. “That doesn’t sound too dissimilar to what I’m experiencing right now at least…”

She mumbled out loud, gripping her forearm.

“A-Actually.” Doto spoke. “I-I think I’ve seen a movie like this before…Motion-san invited me to watch one like that with Shakur-san after I accidentally interrupted them watching it in the recreation room once…” Doto’s voice trailed off into a guilty murmur at the end.

“Either way, those are just stories aren’t they?” Ayabe sighed. 

“They may be just stories, but all kinds of incidents like this happen at Tracen all the time!” Digitan said.

“That’s still too far-fetched.” Ayabe said. “Maybe I just had some kind of dream about today in that case…?” She looked away as she spoke onward, feeling the heat of embarrassment warm her face as she entertained the idea.

“Ahaha…that’s still kinda out there don’t you think?” Top Road sheepishly laughed, scratching the back of her head.

Ayabe’s ears flicked in response to hearing that. She pouted lightly, “I’m not going crazy, I swear.”

“No one’s saying anything about that!” Top Road responded, her arms raised defensively. “This really doesn’t seem like something you’d be lying about either.” 

“A-Ayabe-san’s an honest girl, she really doesn’t lie that much. I-If at all!” Doto commented, the corners of her mouth curling upward as she remembered prior interactions she’s had with the reticent girl.

“I…see?” Ayabe tilted her head, a light frown forming. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to take that.”

“Why are you upset about being unable to lie?!” Top Road said, shocked.

“It’s not that I’m upset, it's just…am I really that easy to read?” Ayabe responded, slightly crestfallen.

“That uncompromising honesty’s one of the things I like a lot about you, Ayabe-san!” She flashed a radiant smile at the end. 

Ayabe felt her heart leap, her cheeks start to warm and her tail beginning to flail about. She clasped her hands together behind her back and quickly darted her eyes away to avoid meeting Top Road’s head on “O-Oh? Is that so? One of the things you like about me?” She mumbled out. She began to fiddle with her fingers, rubbing them together.

“Mm! I really, really, like how honest you are, Ayabe-san!” The sun couldn’t match how bright Top Road seemed to her right now.

Ayabe couldn’t decide if she felt like melting into the floor like the snow outside or jumping into the air for joy right now. Why was the latter even an option she was thinking of anyway?

“Ah! You’re doing it again! Like I said earlier!” Top Road exclaimed. She startled slightly, realising she had raised her voice a bit too loud for the ward, gave a quick “sorry!” complete with the gesture, before moving in closer to Ayabe. She was so much closer to her now and Ayabe could look into those pools of deep violet forever, take in the faint scent of the morning green coming from her, she could even raise her hand just bit to cup her cheeks andwhatwaswrongwithherrightnowisshereallythinkingaboutherfriendlikethis?!

Ayabe stepped back unconsciously, her heart hammering so hard it threatened to burst out of her chest. Top Road’s eyes widened in alarm. “Ayabe-san?! Your face is really red right now!” She closed the distance and put a hand to her forehead, moving closer to look at Ayabe’s face. “It’s so warm too…! Did you catch a fever?!” Top Road fretted.

“I-I-I’m fine really….!” Ayabe managed to croak out, her voice hitting the high pitch of a deflating balloon. Her pupils were swirling now.

Digital was trembling with affection as she watched the two, vibrating with so much excitement and love that she was sure she was about to explode.

“AVDDGAUDAAAAAAAH!! AM I ALLOWED TO WITNESS THIS?!” She cried out, managing to contain her voice and dance along the edge of tolerability for the ward.

It was at that moment however:

Bam! The ward door was flung aside, the light crash of impact and the light spilling in from the doorway heralding the arrival of the Overlord.

“I have received your summons, Ayabe-san!” boomed Opera O, striding forth into the room past Ayabe, her crown catching the light past the window once more. “Top Road-san, Digital-san, Doto! I pray this day finds you all well!” She swung her arm in an arc, sweeping the room and gesturing to the three in a single motion. “Oh? Have I intruded upon a most serendipitous moment? Then let me give to you the gift of my most venerated blessings!” Opera O began to cast rose petals that she grabbed from…somewhere over the room. “I, TM Opera O hereby wish upon you a profoundly happy engagement!”

“Opera O-San?!” “OPERA-O SAN??1?!1” Top Road and Digital cried out.

“W-We’re not like that!” Ayabe scream-cried, wishing she could just fade into a nebula right now. 

“Right! Ayabe-san just seemed a bit feverish all of a sudden, so I was just checking to see if she was unwell.” Top Road said, unaware that her touch on her friend’s forehead was more searing than any heat she was feeling internally right now.

Stepping away from Ayabe, Top Road asked: “Wait,  how did you know to come here?”

“I-I texted her just after I called the ambulance.” Ayabe explained from behind her, hand over her chest to still her jackhammering heart. “It wasn’t that much to do.”

“Ah!” Top Road cried out. “I knew I was forgetting something!” She looked down in shame. So you did forget to call her again. Ayabe thought to herself.

“Tell me Doto! Has Neptune’s outpour done you harm?” Opera O asked upon arriving by Doto’s side.

That got said yesterday too, what’s happening right now? Ayabe began to wonder. Did she hit her head at some point last night she was asleep and didn’t realise it? did she really have a dream about today from yesterday? Had her fantasies of fluffiness the day before actually come about and took her back a day? Honestly she would love to jump headfirst into a pile of fluff right about-

Thud

Ah right. That also happened yesterday. Ayabe grumbled to herself internally as she knelt down to help a fainted Agnes Digital.

———




“I’ll see you later then, Ayabe-san!” Top Road waved as she began to pace down the street, Ayabe stood amidst the snow covered road, thinking back on what had happened.

Sure enough, Opera-O had offered the two to take part in the play yet again. Ayabe had turned down the offer, much like yesterday. She had also chose not to mention why she did not intend on going, though this time it was to avoid mentioning that her schedule for the day didn’t allow for their rehearsals.

She was also certain that bringing up the fact that Opera O was having two first recitals would have made the conversation devolve into a bigger headache than she was willing to deal with at this time.

Grooooowl…. Her stomach wept. Ayabe turned back towards the academy, beginning to walk back towards a warm and welcoming breakfast on this chilled morning.

It was at that moment when her phone let off a buzz in her pocket however.

Taking out her phone and opening her messages, Ayabe stared in confusion at the text she had just received:

Ayabe? I’m going to be doing a surprise livestream for my fans later, do you wanna come along? I promise it’ll be fun! ♪

The feeling of confusion quickly became a sense of dread, crawling through her veins as her eyes trailed upwards along her chat log:

This exchange didn’t happen yesterday. No matter how far up she scrolled, days, weeks, months worth of interactions passed by with a few meagre flicks. None of the previous invitations to other streams, parties, outings were the same as the one she had just received.

The dread had her heart in a grip now, too many things weren’t adding up today. She quickly typed out a reply:

Sorry, I’m not feeling up to it today.

Although come to think of it:

By the way, don’t classes start again this week? Are you sure you have time for another stream?

The guilt she would normally have been feeling found itself awash amidst the myriad of questions Ayabe found herself wondering as she pocketed away her phone, just what was going on today? Why were so many things happening again as if they didn’t happen already yesterday? Could streets really be fixed up that quickly? And Top Road-

Ah. She didn’t talk to Top Road about how she’s been pushing herself today.

Glancing back in the direction she saw her friend take off in, Ayabe wondered if she should chase after her.

…No, Ayabe decided. Top Road may be reckless when it comes to how hard she pushes herself for others but there’s always been some degree of regulation wasn’t there? Especially when compared to herself. 

That’s right isn’t it? That girl was always better at this than Ayabe herself was. So much more reliable and dependable, and kind, and-

Ayabe quickly shook off those thoughts as she started to walk back towards Tracen, slipping her phone back into her pocket. She should really be trying to spiral less often, shouldn’t she?

“Ah.” “Ah!”

A pair of chopsticks clattered against each other as they reached for the final vegetable croquette in a cleared out tray, its crisp golden brown shining tantalisingly underneath the warming light.

“You should-“ “You can have-“

“Ah.” “Ah!” 

Oguri Cap and Special Week found themselves speaking over each other again. 

Ayabe couldn’t help but watch the interaction with light bemusement as she munched on her own croquette from her table, the crisps crumbling apart softly as she did so. As she allowed the rich flavour to wash over her taste buds, she couldn’t help but find that interaction too, was a bit familiar.

See? The two of them had even begun to trade foods as compensation for the compromise that Special Week had won, as she remembered.

Ayabe glanced around the cafeteria. Though the high ceilings and warm oak fixtures, fittings and posts were always ever present, she couldn’t help but swear that even some of the other pairings and seatings of the other Uma Musume were exactly as she had seen yesterday.

Not that she had been paying too much attention to that sort of thing, that’s hardly her wheelhouse.

Looking down at her meal, consisting of a small bowl of miso soup with tofu and kelp swirling around, a bowl of rice and a side of light stir fried greens, she felt her stomach beginning to cry out for sustenance once more, a light appetiser didn’t do much for her today it seemed.

As Ayabe picked up her chopsticks and picked out a small piece of the rice to chew on, she began to feel a heavy, oppressive chill that traveled down her spine all the way to her tail, causing it to swish about rapidly. 

Her body tensed. The air became charged with a tension that was thick, crushing. Grinding.

Her breath began to feel constricted, her skin crawled with a feeling akin to dozens of spiders creeping all over, her tastes bud shut off, the stickiness of the rice she on her tongue no longer able to be felt.  Her eyesight began to darken around her peripheral, as if the light was being sucked out of what she saw. Amidst the myriad of sensations she was feeling, she felt eyes examining her, picking away at her from somewhere in the cafeteria. 

She quickly shot up out of her seat, slamming her hands on the table as she did so. Ayabe swiveled around in panic, eyes darting around in search of the mysterious observer. The commotion drew the attention of several other students in the cafeteria, causing multiple eyes to now look upon her. She wouldn’t be able to find her culprit like this. 

The oppressive air had dissipated now, leaving the sound of her rapidly beating heart ringing clear in her ears. She put her palm to her face, closed her eyes and sighed heavily, opening them a crack. All kinds of things were strange today, weren’t they?  

“Hey! Hey! Ayabe-san? Are you alright? That was really loud!” A cheerful and willful voice came from her side, the abundance of vitality in the voice betraying the stature of its owner. She felt a light tug on the sleeve of her tracksuit along with the question.

Ayabe turned and looked down to see a head of pink hair looking up worryingly at her, the normally cheerful face of Haru Urara now frowning in worry. Just out of the periphery of her vision, Ayabe also spotted the familiar black hat of Rice Shower bobbing towards them.

“Are you alright? That gave us quite a shock…” Rice asked, coming to stop just to the left of Urara. Her hands were clasped together in concern as she looked over Ayabe.

Ayabe’s mind took off from the gates as she raced to put together an excuse for what she just did. “Um…I saw a bug down there…?” She nervously scratched her cheek with a single finger, avoiding direct eye contact with either of the two lest they see straight through that shoddy explanation.

“Ah! Where? Where? I’ll go chase it off right now!” Urara seemed to buy it at least. She rushed past Ayabe and immediately began to inspect under the table for the minor miscreant that had disturbed her friend.

Rice for her part just peered at Ayabe, a pink eye not obscured by her fringe staring curiously at her. Ayabe met it head on, having nowhere else to turn to for now.

“Um, are you sure you’re alright? It looked like you were looking around for someone…” Rice queried, cupping her chin between her index finger and thumb in thought.

Crap, she didn’t have an excuse for that one.

As Ayabe found herself fidgeting on the spot trying to think of something to say to explain the frantic search around the cafeteria, Urara popped her pink head back up from her own.

“Aw, I couldn’t find it…oh! I know! You can come sit with us! There’s no scary bug on our side!” Urara excitedly asks.

“Uh, no thanks.” Ayabe say, shaking her head. “It’s already gone, right? And it’s not as though I’ll be staying around for longer anyway.” 

“I-Is that so?” Rice asked, nervously playing with her fingers now. Ayabe noticed her biting her lip slightly, it seemed as though there was something else she wanted to ask.

Urara put into words, “But you looked so lonely just now!” She exclaimed. Rice flinched a bit, but Ayabe could tell from her expression that she was thinking the same thing. 

“I’m alright now, really. Thank you for your concern.” She placed a hand on her hip. “I need to hurry and get ready for classes soon anyway.” 

“Eh?” Rice and Urara responded to that at the same time.

“Classes start again today don’t they?” Ayabe asked.

“Ah! I didn’t realise classes started again today!!” Urara cried out, her pink eyes widening in alarm. She began to jump about in alarm.

“Urara-san! Please calm down! I-I’m pretty sure they haven’t started again today…” Rice grasped onto her shoulders firmly to settle her down.

“…Huh?” 

Maybe I just had a dream about today in that case…? Ayabe distantly remembered her words earlier. She quickly glanced around the Cafeteria again. Come to think of it. There was far less students than there should be here for the start of the school week…

“…Hey. What day is it today?” Ayabe asked.

“Oh! It’s um…Sunday, isn’t it?” Rice responded. “The 18th I think…?” 

“Yeah it is!” Urara happily backed her up. “I know that because King reminded me that there’s no classes today!”

“Eh? Then why were you surprised just now?” Rice spoke, flabbergasted.

“Because Ayabe-san’s usually so on top of things! She’d never get something like this wrong!” Urara beamed, her smile more dazzling than the sunlight outside. Ayabe felt terrible for being unreliable in that sense, just this once at least.

“Nevermind. Strange question to ask.” Ayabe shifted  slightly on the spot. “Everything’s fine now, so you can go back and continue eating.” 

“Alright! See you at the track later, Ayabe-san!” Urara waved before turning around and heading back to their side of the cafeteria with a skip in her step. 

Rice lingered around a bit longer. “Hey, Ayabe-san?” She gave a small, reassuring smile. “You can talk to us if there’s anything bothering you, alright?” 

Ayabe couldn’t help but feel a bit warmed at that. “I’ll keep that in mind. See you soon, Rice-san.”

Rice gave a small wave as she left to join her friend, leaving Ayabe to sit back down and continue her breakfast. Unsure of what to make of how the day has been so far. 

As Ayabe sipped her soup in thought, she didn’t notice the girl staring at her from their seat near the large windows, sipping her coffee in thought. 

——-

“What?” Ayabe uttered in disbelief. Staring into an empty classroom from its doorway.

After she had left the cafeteria, she quickly went back to her dorm and changed into her standard Tracen winter uniform, picked up her materials and headed off to where classes should have begun. Only to swing open the door and discover a classroom completely devoid of occupants, hardly a seat out of place.

Ayabe glanced upwards at the sign built into the doorway, sure enough, this was her homeroom, she hadn’t made a mistake. She should have left it at that, she thought to herself. But that uneasy feeling came crawling back into her skin.

She quickly slid the door to her empty homeroom shut and quickly surveyed every other classroom along the corridor. Empty, empty, empty. Not a single one of them showing the slightest signs of being used that day.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t noticed any activity on the way up either, but the hallways were always quiet during lessons anyways. But that suddenly took on a new meaning right now.

 
Ayabe gripped the front of her uniform tightly as she felt sweat beginning to palpitate. Faintly, she could feel her heart hammering away in her chest as the beats echoed in her ears. 

 
“What’s going on today? This isn’t making any sense.” She whispered to herself as her mind began to race, trying to find any sort of explanation for the strangeness she had been experiencing today.

One came to mind at least. 

“Am I…somehow living the same day again?” Ayabe whispered. The thought was preposterous. She had heard of stories like this before; one in which the protagonist finds themselves trapped in a single day, reliving its events again and again until they resolve some sort of conundrum.

But this was reality, not fiction. There had to be some kind of plausible explanation for what she was experiencing. But what would it be then? Was she dreaming? Hallucinating? Perhaps she had never actually been found on the mountaintop that night and the last month and a half was a dying hallucination that was only now breaking down?

Ayabe sincerely hoped that last one was not the answer.

A cool, relaxed voice dripping with sardonicism snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Ah, so that’s what the ruckus was. And here I thought there was a ghost trying to collect its dues.”

Ayabe turned towards her left, where the voice had come from. There, looking at her bemusedly with her gray was the well known risk-taker and gambler of the school, Nakayama Festa, her shaggy brown hair topped with a gray beanie a striking figure in the empty hallway, the warm daylight bringing to light the cool violet of her uniform . “Well this is an unusual sight. Got your schedule wrong, dear ‘Professional’?” Festa asked haughtily, cocking her head to the side with a grin to match. Her eyes tracing Ayabe with a lofty lavender look.

“None of your business.” Ayabe retorted. Turning the other way. She began to walk off in the other direction, her steps echoing in the hallway.

“No need to be so cold ya know?” Festa shrugged. “I was just headin’ down the stairwell and started hearin’all kinds of banging’ and such. That tends to pique someone’s curiosity, you know?” 

Ayabe turned to look back at Festa, her pink eyes emanating frost. “Yes, I got my schedule mixed up today. Are you happy now?” 

“Well that’s kind of unusual for someone of your caliber.” Festa idly commented. She pulled out three six-sided dice from her pocket, displaying them to Ayabe on an open palm. “Care for a quick game then? I find some cups, we’ll set up in one of these rooms and you’ll try and keep track of these dice.” Festa grinned.

“I’m not someone who takes bets or plays games like these. If you want to partake in these games, go find someone else willing to do so.” Ayabe crossed her arms now. Free-spirited types like her were always grating to get along with; though Urara was an exception to that, something about that girl was just so-.

“I would, but my usual partners are kinda held up right now so here I am, by my lonesome.”, Festa said, pulling Ayabe out of her thoughts. “Well, you can’t exactly get much done today if you’re so disoriented that you’ve got something basic like your schedule wrong to this extent.”
She stowed away the dice into her skirt pocket. She lazily blew away a stray lock of hair that had fallen into her periphery. “So how about a quick change of pace then? Even a well-oiled machine like you needs to do something a bit different besides studying and training all the time.”

“I’m not going to take advice from a slacker like you.” Ayabe snapped back, her glare narrowing now.

“Hey now, where’d that one come from? I’ll have you know I attend classes regularly!” Festa scoffed, “I’ll have you compensate me for that slander, unless…” she dug into her pocket and pulled out the dice once again, wiggling them around her fingers in a showy display, cocksure grin on her face. 

“I’m leaving now.” Ayabe pivoted around and began briskly pacing off, leaving Festa alone outside the classroom. 

“Tsk, guess I’ll just find somewhere to nap before tonight’s game then.” Festa commented before turning the opposite way, lazily placing her hands behind her back as she trailed off to find another resting place.

Ayabe paced down the hallway, her footsteps ringing sharply in the desolate space. Turning towards the staircase, she placed a hand upon the dark wooden railings and began her descent.

As she made her way down, she gathered her thoughts to herself again, and sifted through all of the oddities of today: The weather remaining the same, the early encounter with Top Road and her missing memories, Doto’s accident repeating and her lack of recollection, Digital not remembering a detail she specifically told her. 

Curren’s repeated invitation and it being missing to begin with, her vanishing shopping items. All the same seating arrangements at the cafeteria. There really was only one explanation for it all wasn’t there?

Reaching the next floor down, Ayabe stopped for a moment to look into the empty hallway, nary a sound of company or activity. Or at least not nearly as much as there should have been, she could hear some light sounds of discussion from a classroom to her right, enough for a remedial lesson perhaps. 

But there shouldn’t have been only remedial lessons today, even if she had gotten her schedule wrong. This could only mean…

I really am living the same day somehow…I think? Ayabe cupped her chin and closed her eyes in thought. If she laid out all of the pieces, it was the only explanation that could make sense of it all. But of course, that only brought up a whole host of other questions that she couldn’t even begin to get an answer for, namely how and why?

Groaning exasperatedly, she put a hand to her head to try and calm the coming migraine she felt forming. She turned and continued her descent down the stairs.

Assuming I am somehow repeating the day, how do I get out of it? Absurd question to come to but she supposed stranger things have happened at Tracen to others. 

As she placed her hand on the wooden railing, she tried to recall if she had heard anything about these kinds of stories before. She did faintly recall Curren excitedly talking to her about a movie like this way back but she hadn’t exactly been paying attention. A huge mistake now in hindsight, though to be fair, did anyone really expect to be in a situation like this? 

Digging into those hazy recollections, she recalled…

“-And then, the protagonist managed to break out of the loop eventually by changing his routine, turning over and becoming a kind person, and even falling in love!” Curren excitedly explained across the room. 

Ayabe finished tying up her laces, standing up and off the bed. “Uh huh. Sounds like a really good movie.” She lifted her right foot and tapped the heel against the floor to test if they were fitted securely: they were.

“Actually, there’s a friend of mine who’s kind of a real grouch like the main character was. He kind of reminds me of her a bit…” Curren spoke from behind, her voice weighted. “I was wondering what I could do to get her to cheer up…” she thoughtfully finished, her tone sounded strangely pointed there.

“Knowing you, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Ayabe replied curtly. “You don’t have to keep the lights on.” She pulled down the handle and stepped out.

Come to think of it, Curren never did follow up on that friend. She should ask her about that sometime.

Noting that down for the future, she began to consider her options here. On the off chance she really was somehow living the same day and is trapped in a time loop, then the best thing to do would be…

I should do something different today, in the spirit of those movies I suppose. But what? 

To do something different that she didn’t end up doing yesterday… Ayabe stopped at the height of the stairs, gazing outwardly through the tall window to the outside world. With snow capped trees and distant city lights-

Ah. That’s it. There was something she had been meaning to do wasn’t there?

——

Ayabe finished tying together the last of her laces, weaving the threads together in a formation that almost resembled rabbit ears to secure her thick boots onto her foot. She stood up from her position on the porch, straightening the creases on her night blue winter coat with a few brushes of her hand. She reached upwards to fiddle and adjust the two pastel pink covers on her ears, fastening them for the trip ahead. Next, she grabbed her scarf-the colours matching her ear covers-gifted to her by Curren last year. The soft alpaca wool warming up her collar and her heart already. Lastly, Ayabe slipped on her pink winter gloves, embroidered with light diamond patterns going across it, before grasping the handle of the entrance and leaving the dorms.

Her boots generated a soft crunch as they pressed down into the snow. The chilling air was stark, being felt even through her winter wear. Her breath came out in mist.

Ayabe slipped her hands into her coat’s pockets before she trudged on towards the main road on the left.

The snow fell in light, graceful drops, serenading her stride through the open court of the dorms towards the streets outside. Her goal was the bus stop just outside of the academy grounds, there was a certain place she had in mind that she had been meaning to visit as of late. Yesterday(or today? She’d rather not think too hard about that dream right now) she had been feeling far too listless to do much of anything, but today she felt as though she could manage this much.

Pulling her hands out of her pocket, she put them up to her mouth and blew, taking advantage of the mist that formed to warm herself up. She cringed while recalling the memory of her late afternoon in her dream. While she was slowly getting more comfortable with spending time with Curren, she really shouldn’t be wasting days like that, shouldn’t she? The doctors may have advised her to rest for now but she should be making the most of these days. Heck! It wasn’t even like she couldn’t run either! Light jogs and exercises were fine!

She put her hands back in her pockets and continued forward, picking up her pace a bit, the bus stop would be within sight soon. Still, she thought to herself, now that her trainer has temporarily left the academy to visit home, she had been almost forgetting to train sometimes. Was it because of the absence of that familiar presence usually waiting for her at the track as she arrived at the crack of dawn?

Saki…I guess I really have gotten used to her being around, haven’t I? Her trainer was a strange woman, she thought to herself. Sticking with her for this long despite how she’s been treating her. Treating everyone back then come to think of it.

But Saki in particular was someone who was with her almost every day for the last two years now, she had borne the brunt of her coldness more than most of her friends had. Yet she never stopped smiling for her, waiting there for her. No matter how far Ayabe had run, Saki would always be waiting for her, with the surety of the moon on a rainy night.

Ayabe could only hope she would be able to understand her one day, she owed her that much at least.

She was coming up on the gates to the school now, the bus stop was visible just across the road. Just a few more strides and-

“Muuuun…where could she have gotten off to?” A dejected, mousy voice murmured from her left. Ayabe turned towards it, her eyes landing on an Umamusume with hair the colour of brown sugar topped with a blue beret, a hole cut roughly into it to allow her right ear to poke through. Ayabe noted the red ribbon with twin long trails peeking just over her head and trailing behind her side. Her posture was sagging, hunched with her arms hanging in front of her as she dragged herself up to the bend.
Ayabe had seen this girl around sometimes, her name was Mamb-no, Machi-? No no, that didn’t quite fit their naming schemes did it now? Mati-something?

The girl soon looked up from her despondency upon hearing Ayabe’s boots crunching through the snow ahead. Her amber eyes perked up as she immediately scampered towards her. She wheezed as she came to a stop, she seemed to have been running for quite a while.

“H-Hey… did… you see Fuku-san… any-cough cough!?” The girl bowled overgrasping at her sternum to steady her breathing.

Ayabe stepped closer to the girl, “Calm yourself down first.” She patted her back to help her cough out the clogged air in her lungs.

After a moment of hacking, the girl stood up. “Uweeeh, kind of a rough way to introduce myself after all that but…I’m Matikanetannhauser! But my friends call me Machitan! I’m in the junior division.” She had a slightly nasally quality to her chipper voice.

“I’m Admire Vega. Just Ayabe is fine. I’m in the senior division. But what were you running around out here for?” She asked.

“Oh! I knew I saw you somewhere before!” Matikane-er, Machitan? Exclaimed, suddenly jumpy. “Geh! To think I made such a clumsy first impression in front of someone like you…!” She shook her head, “But nevermind that, did you see Fuku-san? She went running off after she suddenly started crying out about a disaster taking place or something!” 

“No. I’m sorry, but I can’t say I have.” Ayabe responded, cupping her chin in thought. The eccentric fortune teller and maestro of good luck, Matikanefukukitaru. The name was definitely one she knew. Would have been hard to forget her after that passionate display at that Karuta Showdown last year if nothing else. Sadly though, she couldn’t say she had seen her today. Although come to think of it, she did hear some distant thundering sounds above her while she retrieved her winter gear, is this what that was?

“Guh! Thank you for your help, Ayabe-san! Sorry to bother you!” Machitan’s face fell before steeling itself, she immediately moved past Ayabe, starting to break out into another run as she began to check another side of the campus.

Ayabe couldn’t just leave her alone could she? Not with how worried she looked. 

“Hey, hold on.” She called out. Machitan stopped and looked back curiously. 

“Give me your phone number, if I run into Fukukitaru-san, I’ll contact you.” Ayabe pulled her phone out of her pocket and held it idly in front of her.

“Ah! Thanks so much!” Machitan jovially jogged back to her, pulling out her own phone.

“I’ve never seen Fuku-san get the jitters so bad before! So I’ve been running all over Tracen looking for her, this’ll help a lot!” Machitan commented as they exchanged contact information.

She brought up her LANE. “Just a quick text…” Two quick taps. A digital ring came from Ayabe’s phone a split second later, she pulled it out of her coat pocket to see the message that came up: Hi!

“Yup. I’ve got it down.” Ayabe pocketed it away. “I’ll see around then, Machitan-san.” 

“O-Oh, yeah I’ll see you around, Ayabe-san!” Machitan quickly turned around and jogged off towards the dormitories. “I can’t believe I’ve got the number of an Umamusume like her-oh wait no! I need to…”  Ayabe heard her speak to herself as she bobbed away into the distance.

Turning back towards the bus stop, she took a step forward, the gentle crunch of the snow beneath her boot the only sound of company now.

I suppose I can keep an eye out for her while I’m out there. Ayabe thought to herself as she stepped into the shelter. Setting herself down on the bench as she waited for the bus to arrive, she could only hope that this trip would be a peaceful one.

——

Downtown was always busy this time of the year.

The sun was reflected in dark glass panes affixed to tall, monolithic towers and buildings of steel and silvers that seemed to touch the sky itself. The vast blue being able to be seen even if one were to gaze up at the structures.

The streets below were awash with people and Umamusume commuting about. Stores had Christmas decorations lined up on their fronts, trees set up by the front with eye-catching stars and memorabilia attached. 

Paper ornaments hung above alleys, illuminating and providing the denizens below with a jovial and bright environment, amped with cheerful Christmas jingles and songs playing through speakers-background noise for friends and family members to catch up with each other on a special time that allowed for it. For gifts to be bought for loved ones and special someones.

The bright neon store signs, the open window displays, restaurants, hobby shops. All the blues, greens, reds, yellows, browns, beiges of the city were always renewed in splendor this time of year, the people were too.

This time of year was always far too bright for Ayabe. Especially now.

 She found herself walking along a pavement past a myriad of these shops. The occasional display caught her eye, usually of fluffy plushies or sweaters that had her considering making a rash financial decision. The bronze telescope on a tripod she had spotted just a bit earlier almost had her pulling out her wallet on the spot in particular, but she resisted the urge.

She supposed even the commercialism of this period was something she couldn’t avoid falling into.

Her steps continued to plough through the snow in a plodding rhythm. Though the late winter had always repelled Ayabe with how radiant everything always seemed to get, it did bring with it a gentle blanket of snowfall that carpeted all it fell on with a delicate shimmering white, dulling the brightness just enough for Ayabe to be able to stand being outdoors for long.

Her brothers had also often asked to play in the snow with her, and others always seemed to enjoy it. So it at least made people happy as well.

She came to a stop at a traffic crossing at a large square. Here, two roads crossed each other as large buildings with giant displays surrounded them. The long, wide zebra patterned crossing on the roads could still be seen underneath tracks that had paved through the snow. There weren’t many people around this particular crossing it seemed. Good, she needed a bit of quiet after all the bustle she had previously walked through.

As she stared at the red light across the road, she heard footsteps trail up to her right, just a few paces over.

“Aww….I can’t believe the day’s almost half over already…” A dejected voice came from her left, a girl’s voice. Ayabe could already imagine how chipper that voice must have usually sounded.

“It’s not that bad, Hina. We still have plenty of daylight left.” A more put-together voice assuaged her.

“Still, we rarely get to hang out together like this these days , Sis!” The first voice-Hina, cried out. Ayabe’s ear twitched involuntarily at the utterance of that word: Sis.

 She peered over to where the pair were talking, seeing two human girls side by side, talking to each other, both of them teal haired with vibrant green eyes. One of them wore her hair in a short bob with twin braids framing her rounded face, topped off with a round black hat that covered her hair snugly while the other had longer hair, reaching the middle of her back. She had an identical face to her companion’s, though hers was of a slightly more stern complexion, seemingly more relaxed right now. Hina was currently looking down at the ground with a forlorn look, as if wishing that the day would slow down. Her sister was looking worriedly at her.

The unknown sister wore a gray coat with fuzzy arms-that Ayabe couldn’t help but feel slightly jealous of-alongside a thick cream coloured sweater with two gold necklaces that highlighted the warmth of the colour along with a long light gray skirt, black tights and boots.

Hina wore a stark white sweater with a buttoned-in waistcoat under her blazer, her outfit completed with navy blue shorts, knee high brown socks and navy sneakers tipped with white ends and laces.

The outfits were coordinated, complimented each other. Ayabe could already envision them picking their outfits together, the properly warm smile of Hina as she held up various items. The frost melting away from her sister as the outing continued. The two looked to be the ideal part of twins to her.

Ayabe felt a sharp sting at her heart as she looked at the two.

“I wish this day could just last a bit longer…you’re always so busy with your band practices and classes and I have all of my PasuPare stuff to do alongside my own…” Hina whined, her posture somehow sinking further than it already had.

“That kind of wish isn’t feasible to grant, Hina.” Her sister sighed. She folded her arms, gripping onto her sleeves tepidly as she looked to the side just a bit. “But I suppose I can try to clear some space in my schedule for another outing like this soon.” She said, her voice trailing off slightly at the end. Was showing care like this something she wasn’t fully comfortable with yet?

“Really?! Woohoo! Thanks Sis! You’re the best!” Hina shouted her voice regaining the vigour Ayabe had just imagined it would have, causing her sister to flinch slightly. As she proceeded to glomp her sister in a giant hug, much to her dismay, she spotted Ayabe looking at them. She quickly turned away from the pair.

“Huh? Wait, is that…?”

Ayabe heard the sound of footsteps shuffling through the snow headed towards her at high speeds and turned her head back, looking into pools of bright, apple green eyes that were staring into her in wonder as though they had seen a shooting star.

“It is! You’re Admire Vega-san!” Hina exclaimed, jumping on the spot in joy. “Your Japanese Derby run was so boppin’! You were so cool that day!”

“O-Oh, you’re a fan of mine, are you?” Ayabe asked, shyly scratching at her cheek with a finger. She was aware that she was a famous runner known in the public eye, but it had never really been something she paid much mind. It helped that she mostly went to familiar neighbourhoods for goods and foods like bread and such. The people there had already been acquainted with her for a while.

Hina’s sister quickly caught up to them. “Hina!” She cried exasperatedly. “You can’t just accost someone like this!” 

“Oh! Sorry about that.” She stepped back a smidge, still too close for Ayabe’s liking.  Hina turned to her sister. “But you remember her from that day right?”

“Yes, I do. Hard to forget how everyone managed to get involved eventually.” She put a hand to her forehead and sighed. Ayabe couldn’t understand why, but she somehow felt a mutual kinship with the sister right now.

Hina turned back to Ayabe, wonder shining in her eyes as she began to recant that day, “The way you and Top Road-San were running side by side towards the goal! It was all like zoosh! And Zubababa! And Kira-Kira ★!” She rambled on excitedly.

Ayabe blinked twice. “Um…thank you?” This was a new kind of encounter.

“She means to say that that last run was enthralling.” Hina’s sister chimed in.

“Oh. Thank you, er…?”

“Hikawa Sayo.” The girl gave a polite bow. “But just Hikawa is fine.”

“Alright then. Hikawa-san, thank you.”

“It’s no trouble. It’s just that Hina tends to get excited easily.” Hikawa spoke wearily, but there was an underlying tinge of affection to her voice. Ayabe could already imagine the times these two must have been through in their lives.

“Though I must say, it was a rather spectacular race. I think I understand why Hina gets so engrossed in it.” Hikawa said.

“Yeah. I can remember it like it just happened.” Ayabe gave a light smile. She recalled running against the window, the impact of her cleats against the turf, Top Road running by her side and the two rapidly swapping positions as the race reached its climax.

“I’m not usually one to go to events like these, but the sight of everyone thundering down the straightaway as the crowd cheers on is certainly one that etches itself into your mind.” Hikawa reminisced. She closed her eyes as she lightly sighed. “Everyone got so excited then. I swear I almost lost my voice that day just trying to calm Udagawa-san down.” Hikawa crossed her arms, ending her sentence with a sigh.

“Oh. Um, I’m sorry?” Ayabe said. She couldn’t help but note the lightedness that Hikawa had spoken with however.

“It’s nothing to apologise for, Admire Vega-san. Really.” Hikawa replied.

“Just Ayabe will do. That goes for both of you.” She stated, turning to Hina as well, who immediately lit up upon hearing that. “I’ve been through something similar in the stands myself, so I know how that feels.” Ayabe recalled the times where she’d had to wrangle in Urara when she jumped about or apologized profusely for Opera O’s impromptu theatre sessions. She couldn’t help but exhale long held frustrations she thought she had vented away by now.

“It seems like we have a few things in common then.” Hikawa commented sympathetically. Ayabe couldn’t help but silently agree.

Hina looked back and forth between her sister and Ayabe. She crossed her arms in thought. “Hmm…you really are alike…” She commented.

“Huh?” The two said simultaneously.

“Ayabe-san, you and Sis both have this fuwaaah energy about you that like, pushes others away, but it’s also so dazzling that you also can’t look away from it…” Hina sounded almost sagelike at that moment, nodding her head as she spoke. A wide smile broke out on her face, “Especially during that interview!” Her eyes lit up again.

“Erm, which one are you talking about?” Ayabe asked nervously, feeling a sudden sense of foreboding doom. She had done dozens of them by now but she got a bad feeling about what would happen soon.

“The one you did just before the Kikuka Sho! The one where you were all like:” Hina straightened her posture, closing a fist over her heart and letting her other arm splay gently to her side, her cheerful demeanor suddenly changed into a flawless picture of stoicism, her green eyes hardened, now shining with the resolve of a lone star in the night, “It doesn’t matter which race it is or who I’m up against, I’m going to win.”  She spoke with a perfect impression of Ayabe’s voice, right down to the octave. Mirth quickly stuffed out the solitude in Hina’s eyes. “You were so much like Sis back in our high school days!”

Hikawa flushed with embarrassment. “Hina!!” She cried out.

Ayabe meanwhile cringed at herself, hard. She shrunk in, trembling hands gripping tightly at the hem of her coat and looking down lest the sisters see her warm, cherry-red face. She felt a rush of embarrassment course through her body, prickling into her skin and enticing her to squirm on the spot, she only barely resisted the urge to do so. She wanted nothing more than to just melt into the snow at her feet at this moment. Goddesses, she really acted like that on live TV broadcast to potentially hundreds of thousands of people didn’t she? Those were still words she firmly believed in, but she definitely had to work on how she spoke.

As Ayabe was busy trying to meld into the snow via unmitigated eye contact, Hina gathered herself. “But still, are you alright these days, Ayabe-san?” She asked next.

“H-Hm? Oh um, yes I am?” Ayabe looked up from her stupor.

“Back at the Kikuka Sho, you had this real ‘fuwuuuu’ energy about you. You weren’t shining like you did during the Japanese Derby…” Hina frowned, her words carrying an undercurrent of concern that tugged at Ayabe. ‘Plus, you had gotten injured recently and I was so worried about you! So I was wondering if-”

“Hina. You’re prying too much right now.” Hikawa gently scolded, cutting Hina off. “However, I can’t say I don’t understand why you’re concerned. The way you looked after you passed the finish line…” She turned to look at Ayabe, an imperceptible expression on her face. “…I can’t say I’m unfamiliar with how you must have felt then.” Her tone was distant, as if she were recalling her own lowest moments.

Something about that unsettled Ayabe, a firm wedge driving into her mind. “I’m fine now. Thank you for your concern.” Ayabe bowed lightly, that was what she was supposed to do in these situations wasn’t she? “I’ll make sure I recover fully before my next race. I hope to have your support then.” The words poured out of her like a script prompt, flat and robotic. What was wrong with her lately?

Hina didn’t seem to notice though. “Boppin’!” She cheered. “Oh! Can we get a picture with you? I want to remember this!” 

Ayabe smiled lightly, “Sure.”

Hina stepped over to Ayabe’s side, pulling out her phone from her blazer’s pocket then, “Come on Sis!” She called out. Hikawa stepped over, “If it’s alright with you.” She said as the three huddled together under the view of Hina’s outstretched arm pointing her phone’s camera back at them.

 Ayabe smiled and held up a hand in a peace sign as Hina grinned cheerily and flashed the same sign in sync, whereas Sayo smiled a bit awkwardly. With an audible ‘click’, the photo was taken. The three separated as Hina examined her new snapshot. 

“Haha! Sis! You still look so funny!” Hikawa let out an indignant hmph! at that. “I can’t wait to show this to Aya-chan…” Hina’s words trailed off, her eyes widening as an important tidbit of information resurfaced in her mind. “Ah! Aya-chan! We’re gonna miss her promotion! We need to get going now!”

Hina pivoted towards the crossing, the signal light having turned several times over their conversation. It displayed a red person standing still now, but the cars traveling had stopped before their own red signals, meaning…

The three stepped onto the crossing as the signal turned green. Their steps pressed down onto the snow as the twins hurried along. Ayabe found herself right alongside them, though she wasn’t in a rush herself. Pacing across the snow-laden road, they crossed the street in short order.

Stopping just below the traffic lights they were waiting on earlier, Hina turned to Ayabe. “Oh, where are you headed to, Ayabe-san?” She tilted her head curiously, she hadn’t expected Ayabe to be keeping pace with them. “Sunshine.” Ayabe responded, looking in its direction. 

“Really?!” Hina’s eyes glimmered. “I go to see the Planetarium there often! It’s so Boppin’! You should definitely stop by there when you get the chance!”. She pivoted on her heel in the opposite direction where Ayabe had started off earlier. “Alright, I won’t take up any more of your time, Ayabe-san. Bye-Bye!” Hina waved before beginning to set down the path, just as Ayabe began to wave back, she stopped just as she began to move, and turned back.

“And Ayabe-san?” Hina looked at her with a smile full of well-meaningness and peridot eyes glimmering with wishes. “I hope you’ll feel better soon!” 

As Hina traipsed down the street waving happily, Hikawa stepped forward, bowing once again to Ayabe. “I apologise for my sister taking up your time today. I’m sure day offs like these don’t come often for you as it is.” 

“It’s no problem, really.” Ayabe gripped her forearm for warmth. “It was nice to meet you two.”

“Still, Hina really has a bad habit of getting overly excited like that. I swear, that girl…” Hikawa sighed. “It’s not that much of a problem most of the time but…”

A warm feeling of melancholy came over Ayabe then, hearing the barely hidden affection in her voice and the sisterly care in her eyes, identical to Hina’s. 

“It’s a good problem to have, if anything.” The words left her before she realised it.

Hikawa looked up at that. As their eyes met, Ayabe saw an understanding come over her expression. She couldn’t guess what Hikawa was seeing as she looked at her. 

“You…” Hikawa stopped. Before nodding and turning around briefly, a firmer look on her face but with a smile that matched her sister’s. “I wish you well today.” She departed with.

Ayabe watched as she left to catch up to her sister, Hina turning back and beaming, welcoming her sister back to her side as the two began to strike up another conversation(“I didn’t think we’d get to meet someone famous today!” “Hina, I’ll really have to pull you aside and talk to you about proper decorum one of these days. “Aw, Sis-!” Was all she could make out before the two got too far away to properly hear.)

“Ah.” Ayabe froze.  “I forgot to ask them about their bands…” she remembered that tidbit from the start. The least she could have done after all of that was to make a promise to show up to one of their performances. It was a basic courtesy she could have done.

Sighing to herself, she adjusted the scarf on her neck; shifting it to rest more comfortably against her collar. …I can’t say that was entirely unpleasant. Ayabe commented internally as she turned around and headed down the street towards her destination once more, putting her gloved hands into her coat pockets for warmth. 

As she felt the cool wind press against her face, she reflected on the encounter she just had, the sisters were actually really pleasant to talk to, embarrassment aside. But the two of them reminded her of something else now that she was thinking on it.

Gemini… Ayabe thought to herself. The twin constellation whose stars shine differently from each other. Pollux of radiant gold and Castor of pale white. She couldn’t help but link the two together with regards to those twins.

Another thought came to mind then.

Could we have been like that? Ayabe stopped and turned her head to her left, gazing into her reflection on the window pane into a music shop with instruments on display. It was opaque enough to make out her features, coat, winter equipment and more despite the bright interior she could peer into. What would her sister have worn? Would she have coordinated her outfit to match? Just like the twins? Would she have chosen to dress in contrast? A brighter coat and more lively colours that she personally picked out instead of being gifted them by her roommate?

Ayabe’s eyes fell upon the strands of hair loosely framing her face, she regarded her short bangs, just ending below her brows near the center. How would her sister have chosen to style her hair? Would she have kept it long? Short? What about her bangs? Would she have worn glasses? Would she have been peppy and upbeat like Hina? Or would she have taken more after Ayabe herself? No, no she wouldn’t have, she’s sure of it. She’d make sure of it. Not that she would have to, Ayabe knew that her sister would have been-

“That one’s calling out to you, isn’t it?”

Ayabe’s ears twitched in attention to the young woman’s voice. She snapped out of her descent and turned to her right, seeing a young human woman with gentle black locks that traveled straight down her back, some of it was tucked behind her left ear and a singular strand was left hanging on her right side, it complimented and brought out the deep green in her eyes. Eyes that were currently focused on the window display and not at Ayabe herself curiously enough. She stared with an inquisitive glance at the displayed set.

“No, it isn’t.” Ayabe steered her body back towards the path, her feet shuffling against the grains of snow at her feet. She took one last glance at the guitar, it was a dark oak piece; its strings shimmering under the light of the display and holding taut, enhancing the silhouette and visual profile of it. She wasn’t exactly into instruments but even she could tell it was a beautiful work. “It’s a nice piece though.”

“It is, isn’t it?” The girl agreed. Despite her relaxed and cool tone, there was a slight airiness to her voice. “Oh.” She spoke soon, as if in realisation. “Are you interested in buying it?” She turned to look at Ayabe directly now, an almost eager expression on her placid face.

Ayabe shook her head. “No thanks. Not right now.” She stepped to the side as she turned and walked down the street.

“Hmm….” The girl hummed to herself as she watched Ayabe disappear into the distance. Idly, she thought to herself that the Umamusume’s ears really did look like a rabbit’s ears.

“Hanazono-san!” Her manager shouted, as he opened the door to the shop. “Are you coming back in?”

“Ah. I’ll be right there!” Tae Hanazono replied, jogging back into the doorway. She’ll find what she was looking for here, sooner or later.

——

Sunshine city was as dazzling as always.

Though Ayabe had largely managed to avoid the hustle and bustle of the season earlier, here she found herself right in the thick of it. People milled about in pairs, triplets, quadruplets and more; moving to and fro various storefronts in the tight, alabaster corridors.

 Their plodding footsteps and hubbub of conversations created an enclosed environment that Ayabe found herself blanching internally in, feeling the energy drain out of her at a rapid rate. She’d be slouching and dragging herself if she didn’t have the reputation of a prestigious academy and her own public image to uphold. 

She really wasn’t good with crowds lately. 

Navigating her way deftly through the shoppers, Ayabe eventually found herself in an aisle with less people about, enough to see the escalators at the end clearly at least. Ayabe exhaled lightly, feeling some of her life return to her in the absence of people. She began to move towards the end of the corridor, taking note of some of the shops along the way.

Gift shops with plushies, cosmetic stores with high end brands, clothing stores, hobby stores. Come to think of it, she should be getting presents for everyone soon. Though she had to make sure she picked things more meaningful this time.

Ayabe stopped in front of a large department storefront. Huffed a bit and then promptly stepped inside. She had a planetarium to visit, but a quick stop along the way wouldn’t hurt, especially for something as important as this.

Aisles of assorted goods filled the space as far as she could see. Cookware, homeware, the same categories of commercial products being sold outside, all neatly displayed and bundled together in square displays that anyone could walk around and thoroughly examine whatever catched their eye. None of them did so for Ayabe right now, squinting her eyes a bit, she could spot winter wear and other articles of clothing being sold behind. That didn’t catch her interest either, so she resolved to head deeper into the store.

I don’t need to buy anything right now, but I should at least see if there’s anything that could interest everyone… Ayabe thought to herself. Still, it would be prudent to at least examine whatever was on offer here, she needed a wider repertoire of gifts to choose from here anyways and this store provided that in resplendent, commercialised, spades. She had always sort of half-assed her gifts to everyone previously, and this year she really didn’t want to do that again this year, not after everything.

Browsing through the store’s catalogue, she appraised sportswear, more cookware, the cosmetics, toys. Aisle after aisle she sorted through, much of what she had selected, be it a finely woven scarf, a brand new coffee brewer, or a high end pair of Umamusume running shoes, couldn’t resolve a criteria she had set:

What makes something meaningful? 

Running it over in her head, she thought about the gifts themselves. Should they be functional? Lasting? Symbolic?

Resting her hand upon a green apron, she pondered that. Symbolic. Of what exactly? How much they mean to her? How much they did for her? 

She examined an automatic tea kettle. What about function? The gifts she gave everyone were all practical she supposed, but rather plan compared to what she’d seen exchanged between others, especially when she had her roommate to compare herself to.

Seriously, Ayabe didn’t think she’d ever see so much contained fervor around a simple meet and greet in the cafeteria, Curren always had a way of giving the people around her happiness didn’t she?

Ascending the escalator to the next floor of the store, she found herself surrounded by options. homeware to her left, room furniture to her front and cosmetics to her right. That second one caught her attention. Ayabe moved towards the mattresses, resisting the urge to examine the fluffiness of the futons she passed by. Just as she was passing by however, she couldn’t help but overhear a conversation with two mildly familiar voices.

“This one? This one feels real off, you’re sure this kind’s good to use for a kotatsu?” A brash voice asked skeptically.

“Yeah! It’s a bit more on the firm side but it’ll still work to give our legs firmer support while we’re sitting too.” A more diligent voice answered.

“Nah I don’t like it.” The first voice scoffed. “Blankets and kotatsus are supposed to be for resting. Either go all in or don’t.”

“What? Even when we’re resting, we still need to maintain ourselves, you know?”

“Then it wouldn’t be called resting would it? We’re supposed to be lounging around here y’know?”

“Then what do you want here?”

“Softer mats that’s what! The kind that’ll really let you melt into the kotatsu when it gets going!”

“I get what you mean but if we can still keep up ourselves we should go for it! It’s not like I’m sacrificing comfort here!”

“But you are! This is for a freaking kotatsu you know? How often are we gonna break this out?”

“It’s because we’re not going to use this that often that we should make the most of it!”

“This is what you call making the most of it?! If you wanna do that then we oughta go all in on the softness! It’s only right for what we’re using it for!”

“Oh come on! If we can get some health benefits while we’re resting then we should also try and aim for that! Have you even put a kotatsu together before?!”

“Have you?!”  

“Aaagh you’re so-!”

This had gone on long enough.

“You two are aware that you’re in public right?” Ayabe said wearily as she approached the pair. They jumped at the sudden voice, the more diligent one’s red twin tails leaping slightly with her and the brasher of the pair’s golden accessories on her hair catching the warm ceiling light. The two of them were dressed in Tracen’s winter coat as well, their violet uniform skirts just peeking slightly beneath the hem of their navy blue coats. Shuffling their feet on the spot, Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka, two of her juniors, turned to look sheepishly at Ayabe. The latter of the two scratching the back of her head embarrassedly.  

“Ayabe-senpai! Sorry about that!” Scarlet bowed apologetically, her silver tiara gleamed slightly as she lowered herself. “If it wasn’t for this dolt being childish we wouldn’t have started arguing like that.”

“What.” Vodka rounded on Scarlet, her white tipped hair tied in a rat tail whipping around as she turned to her. “You’re the one who raised your voice first!”

“Only because you were being so stubborn.” Scarlet turned away with a huff, closing her eyes and crossing her arms. She opened only one red eye back to look at Vodka. “I was already trying to be considerate of you too you know?”

“Hmph!” Vodka copied her companion’s movements, except she turned the opposite way. “If you really were then you’d get what I was going for!”

“Why you…” Scarlet growled, leaning forward.

“What?” Vodka snapped, returning the gesture.

The air between the two of them crackled with sparks right now. Ayabe groaned internally, her peers were just so…much to deal with sometimes.

Stepping between the two, she lifted hand and placed it on a teal coloured blanket, the softness and warmth of the fabric healing her soul a little. The brand was one she was familiar with. “Here, this one should satisfy both of your needs.” 

She patted the mattress lightly to show off it, the sound puffing in the air. “This cotton type should be both soft enough to sit on comfortably for a kotatsu, not to mention its natural heat retention for warmth. It should also be firm enough on its own; if not then you can also get another mattress to layer over to build on it.”

Vodka put her own hand and grasped at the blanket, feeling it about, testing its malleability. Her coffee brown eyes lit up as her hand stopped roaming the surface. “Hey you’re right! This one’s got the right amount I was thinking of!”

Scarlet meanwhile just stared incredulously at Ayabe. “I wouldn’t have expected you to be such an expert on this, Senpai!”

Ayabe turned away from her. “I wouldn’t call myself an expert or anything, I just know a thing or two.”

“But it’s really helped us anyway!” Scarlet beamed, putting her hands together. “You’ve really helped us today, Ayabe-senpai! If you weren’t here I’d probably have kept arguing with this dingus over here.” She jabbed a thumb at Vodka, now hugging the blanket to test its fluffiness. Her head snapped over at those words.

“Hah?! Who are you calling a dingus!?” Vodka flared up, setting the blanket down and stepping closer to Scarlet.

“Who do you think, dingus?” She leaned in response.

“Grrr...” the two locked eyes intensely, disconnected from the world around them again.

Ayabe swore she saw lightning bolts clashing between their gazes and moved closer. “Do you mind taking this outside at least? You’re going to disturb the other shoppers at this rate.”

“Ah!” Scarlet hurriedly broke off the dead lock. “Sorry about that!”

Vodka gave an indignant hmph! “That wasn’t cool of me. Sorry about that, Ayabe-senpai.”

“Just keep yourselves in check for as long as you’re here at least. See you later.” As Ayabe began to walk away, she heard Vodka call after her:

“Hey wait! You’ve helped us solve our problem so it’s only fair that we help you too!”

Ayabe turned around. “It’s nothing you need to thank me for. I was just passing by.”

A beat. For a moment Vodka just stared at Ayabe with wide, incredulous eyes, with nothing but the idle sounds of shoppers going about their business and the accompanying chatter following suit, just as Ayabe was about to ask what was wrong however,

“THAT’S SO COOL!!” Vodka erupted, Ayabe winced at the sudden outburst as it drew attention towards the three as Scarlet rushed to clamp her hand  over Vodka’s mouth “You idiot! We’re in public!” She hissed into her ear.

Ayabe rubbed her ears lightly, dampening the dull ringing in them. She looked back at Vodka. “Not so loud…! But what do you mean by that?

“Sorry about that, it's just-! The way you just smoothly came in to help us and then calmly leave while being so humble about it is the kind of cool I’m trying to be!” Vodka flashed a wide grin, her eyes gleaming with inspiration. “I hope one day I can be like that!”

Ayabe cast her eyes downward. “…I don’t think any part of me is worth emulating.” 

“Hm? Did you say something there?” Vodka quirked her head.

“Nope, it was nothing. I’ll see you back at the academy.” Ayabe turned and began to walk off at a brisk pace.

“Oh! Ayabe-senpai!” She heard Scarlet call from behind her this time, she turned her head around to see Scarlet approaching her, coming to a stop just short of Ayabe, she spoke, “We’ll repay you the favour one day alright?”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Please mind your behaviour in public, you’ve got much more than your own image to carry here.” Ayabe stated. She turned around and continued walking. She no longer felt like browsing for gifts, tired from the encounters she’s had all day. Now, she’d head towards the reason she came here to begin with.

–

The canopy of stars above was a sight to be enamoured with.

Stars dotted a vast ethereal canvas  where dark blues, violets and pink weaves in and out of each other in clouds and wisps, forming a backdrop for the splendid constellations all around, as far as the eye could see:

Pollux, shining brightly in the heavens.

Regulus, standing proudly and regal, its presence a highlight to its peers and unto itself.

Deneb, glowing a brilliant cerulean and surrounded by distant catheti

Procyon, dazzling in its trained poise, ready to guide the way.

Antares, the garnet star radiating like a heartbeat in the cosmos.

Them and so many more, formed the very shapes that had inspired all manner of cultures, folklore and legends throughout the history of the world in kaleidoscopic asterisms. One could lose themselves in the mysticism of it all easily.

Ayabe often let herself do so.

This seat bed is really nice~ She thought to herself, leaning further into the enveloping softness. The velour lining creates a smooth and plush layer that has just enough friction to catch you when you nuzzle into it, the microbeads underneath provide a good base to relax on too, there’s just the right amount of bumpiness and variance in the shape it forms to spread out all over your back when you press down onto it. My trapezius muscles in particular are really appreciating it. Humming to herself, she pushed further onto the crescent shaped seat, her legs lifting off the floor and now set upon the edge.…it’s creating such a comfortable bed… The fluff meister sighed to herself contentedly, making sure to keep her volume low for the other visitors to enjoy the canopy above.

Nestling into a comfortable position, she set her hands across her belly as she stared up into the myriad of stars.

What would it be like to be among them, I wonder? To be truly free of everything that ties us down to the earth?

She clasped her hands tightly, her fingers digging in.

…Is that where you are now?

Floating freely among the sea of stars, able to gaze directly into them and see their truths, each and every one of them. Being able to observe their lives from the gaseous nebulae to the lingering white dwarfs. What a freeing existence, Ayabe thought to herself. To have all of the galaxy and beyond to yourself to explore. To be able to watch every story start and end.

Would her own be worth watching?

Ayabe came down from her ruminations and turned to her left. The midnight blue seat was vacant from where she was situated, and she could see other observers in the distance, a pair of friends, a family, a small group of youths(young adults most likely), and some Umamusume.

Ayabe turned back up towards the star map, letting the cool air conditioning of the room run over her senses, able to be gently felt even through her coat. She was no stranger to visits like these. She often went to observatories by her lonesome, often not caring about how friendless and withdrawn she may have appeared to strangers. She knew deep down she was never alone at least, an ever subtle presence that she had always felt was with her whenever she went on these journeys, ensuring that she was never accompanied by loneliness.
She was only more sure of what it really was back then, now that she no longer felt it.

Ayabe laid her hands down by her sides, her palms touching the velour covering. In the past, solo visits like these had never felt as isolating as they did now. A hollow feeling gnawed away at her in her chest, a gross feeling of wrongness pricking away at her. Between the vast starry display above and the large, circular room arcing around her, she had never felt so small before.

“I wonder if I should bring someone with me next time…would it be too bothersome?” She murmured out loud.

“I think they would love that, honestly.” A light and airy voice breathed out from her left, from far too close to her.

“!!” Ayabe shot upwards to her feet, her heart rate spiking, and spun around on her feet in a panic, only to see the seat completely empty, not even the hint of a body pressing down on the area where that voice came from, the soft bed completely undisturbed. She quickly surveyed the room, no one was leaving where she was just at. In fact, the only people around were now staring at her, bewildered by her outburst.

Ayabe felt her face become flush with embarrassment, quickly blurting out an apology, bowing, and left the observatory, heading back to her dorms. Stepping out into the streets once more, a cool evening wind began to breeze through, ruffling her hair somewhat.

 Straightening it, she continued on her way. As she did so, she began to wonder: was whoever that was connected to whatever it was that happened at breakfast? Nevermind that now, Ayabe felt a migraine coming on trying to put things together. Far too many strange things had been happening today and she wanted nothing more than for the day to end at this point and to meet her bed face first and drift off into a lucid land free of worries.

Curren’s reappearing shopping spoils did not ease those.

—

The gray light of the morning spilling through the curtains, the shopping bags at the foot of Curren’s bed disappeared once more. 

Ayabe stared placidly at the room from her bed, laying on her back and turning her head to the side to examine the room. 

Languidly, she reached for her phone at the desk next to the bed. Sure enough, there it was. In the exact spot it always had been recently: she remembered putting it in a slightly different position the previous night.

The screen lit up as she shifted to laying on her side. She had a nagging feeling that she already knew what she would see.

The date was as expected: December 18th.

Ayabe stared at the listed date. She blinked. And then blinked again: the date did not change.

“Ah, fuck.”