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Both of the girls ran across the park, the click, clack of their shoes as they ran across the park looking for the place taiki had been raving about. Doto was tagging along too, they were both good partners and nobody had suspected they went out a lot, after all they started to do everything together.
Taiki had suggested to doto to go on an outing to a burger shack that both piqued their interest. Taikis for the amount of American style goodies that reminded her of home and doto, for the spicy food that also piqued her interest. She was going on a small break from spicy food for a bit because she ate too much of it.
The truck had an enticing aroma of meat and cheese, ketchup and pepper.. a heavenly smell to taiki.
"Cmon doto! It's not too far away!"
"A-alright!! I'm going as quick as i caaan!!"
Both of them ran to the truck, the aroma growing more stronger and stronger, the clack of each of their shoes on the park pavement as they rushed to the truck. Taiki was completely entranced by the powerful aroma of the meaty, juicy burgers.
"Alright we're here!! Sorry i kinda dragged ya allllll the way out here.." Taiki smiled at doto, a big cheesy grin on her face. She was always so friendly and cheery, how could you hate her?
"I-it's okay! I don't mind going out with you.."
Both walked up to the front of the truck, taiki was drooling at the mouth. A waterfall at this point! While doto looked at the menu, there were lots of options ranging from simple burgers to spicy, flavourtown ones. Doto caught her eye on the spicy one, but also wouldn't mind going for a simple, plain burger.
"Taiki- are you gonna.." she was practically drooling an entire waterfall! Distracted by the aroma of the sizzling grill! "T-Taiki!! Earth to taiki..?"
She snapped out of her drooling trance, looked at doto, then looked back to the menu. "Oh! Uh! Sorry!! Ehee.."
The light brown haired umamusume focused on the menu, her eye set on many of the delectable choices.
"Oh!! How about that! The meaty stack! Oh and that one! Throw in some loaded fries as well! The whole hullabaloo!"
Taiki was set on eating the entire menu, well, that was an over exaggeration but it felt like it. Like a kid in a candy isle she took as much as she could. Doto was still deciding, her eyes going back on the spicy burger along with some peach ice tea.
"I'll have the chili burger.. can i get some peach flavoured ice tea with that too..?" Her tone was shy, it was.. cute. Taiki thought it was cute, she thought everything about doto was cute. Her clumsiness, her cat like attitude, the pride when she runs. Everything about her was cute.
Sure, they're not on the same level on the track(taiki: mainly a sprinter/miler. Doto: mainly a medium/longer) but they were on the same level out of the track, outside of tracen. They ..liked each other but both couldn't really admit that.
"Alright! Do you want anything else or will that be all?" The voice of the person in the truck took taiki out of her daze, shoddily spewing out whatever she could say next. "I-I'll have a ramune! Please!"
Ramune, a refreshing drink for the hot sun. Who couldn't pass it up? For doto she quite liked the multiple flavours it came with, for taiki.. well she struggled to swing it down like she'd do with a regular drink. Her pa' did that after all and it seems it bounced off to her.
"Alright.. that'll be 2,300 yen!" Surprisingly cheap for the amount of burgers taiki wanted on her side.
"I-'ll pay.. i caused all the hassle of being a bit clumsy and making us late for our outing.." doto opened her handbag and pulled out a small, cat shaped purse. It had enough yen for a good while "No! I'll pay! It's only fair for me causing all the hassle actually..."
Doto was taken aback just slightly. She wanted to pay back the favour, but taiki insisted. "I-if you want to.. but i can always pay you back..!"
"Oh no, it's fine! Dontcha worry your boots off doto!" Taiki pulled out her own purse, grabbing the amount needed and plopped it onto the little tray.
"There ya go! All paid fo!" The moment the money was put onto the tray, the person inside the truck got to work immediately as they handed over the two drinks to the two umamusume.
"Let's go wait ova' there for now! We can have a lil chitchat you know!"
Taiki grabbed dotos arm and led her to the closest table. The sun was gleaming on the two as they sat down on the light brown wooden chairs, rimmed with metal on the sides.
"Uwawa.. i- thank you taiki for asking .. me out of everyone to go with you on this outing.."
The shy umamusume had a pinkish hue on her face. Blushing, doto was always blushing whenever she did something clumsy but it was mainly out of embarrassment. But this was not in embarrassment, (Or maybe she was?) it could've been anything else! Taiki was great at reading peoples faces but not like this! Was she embarrassed?? Was she happy?? Was she upset?? Taiki didn't know!!
"Ehe, it's no problem doto! You're just a good friend of mine and i want us to have more fun together! Since you're usually out on the medum and long tracks and i'm stuck with the sprints and mile distances!" Yeah, they had dominated in their speciality, but never really had the thought to try each other's distances. Taiki trying medium lengths? Doto trying mile lengths? It would end in a nightmare!
"We should train together more! It'll be fun! Like a great get together! I can invite suzuka as well, you can invite Opera O too! The more the merrier, like a big party!!" Taiki always loved parties, she was one big social butterfly (social..umamusume?) and could never bear being alone. When she was training, suzuka or doto was always with her, sometimes even fukukitaru or rice. haru was always given the opportunity to train with them but she couldn't since haru was given special training to cope with her fear of large spaces.
Taiki and doto always wondered why haru hated large, open spaces if she was even enrolled in tracen. Not a lot of people questioned that though.
The aroma of each sizzling patty popped their thoughts, taikis double stacker packed with onions and cheese was packing a punch to her nose. A heavenly scent while dotos spicy, chilli burger brought a sweet and tangy aroma to her. She really loved spicy food, guess her and taiki were on the opposite of the spicy spectrum.
"Ooooh!! They smell so scrum-diddly-umpchus! I can't wait to sink my teeth into one! Maybe they'll be like how mama used to make em! Hot and packed fulla flavour straight from the grill!"
She always thought back of the days when she was a young uma. each family gathering, each party and each celebration always ment something to her. Everyday she'd ask her mother or father if there'd be anyone coming over or if there was a party going on. The usual answer was yes, but when it was the rare no, taiki got really down in the dumps. But it didn't stop her from hosting her own parties with her own friends.
"They do smell nice..if you dont mind could i have some of the loaded fries? I've always wanted to try them but the look just put me off sometimes.." she had always seen taiki eat more than she could chew sometimes but the food she ate was always hot off the grill, sizzling nice and loudly. It peaked her interest.
"Oh! Sure! I don't mind sharin ya know?" Taiki gave another big cheesy grin. God, she was truly adorable.
the scent of charred and cheesy burgers caught taikis attention, their stuff was ready. "Ah! I think our foods all done cookin! I'll go grab it for us!" She got up and walked back over to the truck, the multiple wrapped, oily and flavourful burgers along with the loaded fries were a bit of a struggle for taiki, but nothin this gal couldn't handle.
She placed the burgers and fries onto the table, sitting back down and immediately unwrapping the biggest one whilst doto unwrapped her own, and slowly chewing it. But taiki.. was scoffing it all down again, biting more than she could chew. But it made her look a little bit silly and doto found that cute, doto found a lot of things about taiki cute. Her cheery and sociable attitude, her spurts during the last leg, the strength she had.. it was all so dazzling to doto. But she just mainly focused on eating her food.
"Mm! I was right! Just like how mama made em! I guess we'll have to come back here often if we're out doin some trainin!"
She kept scoffing down the large burger, spilling and creating a mess everywhere, sauce and cheese splattered onto her face.
"E-eh.. taiki you have some-" some sauce had splattered onto dotos face, taiki absolutely entranced in the multiple burgers she was scoffing down.
"Taiki!! You've got some sauce on your face.!!" That caught the burger munching uma out of her cheesy, meaty trance. "Oh! I do? Silly ol' me!" Taiki shrugged, she didnt seem to care since it was a little bit of sauce.
"I'll wipe it off for you..." Doto got close to taiki, and pulled out a handkerchief from her bag, wiping away the sauce from her cheek.
after fully cleaning her cheek and around her mouth, walking back to her chair and sitting back down to continue eating.
"I could have ten more of these! A hundred! A million even! They're so yummy!" Taiki couldn't resist any food that reminded her of home, especially her mother's cooking. She always made a good burger, steak or any meaty item but taiki also loved her desserts. Each sweet drip of chocolate sauce, every dollop of whipped cream on an eclair and even the crunch of a meringue sent her into a sweets heaven.
"I like these too, but i don't think i could have ten, or a million of them.. we could try making our own though!"
Taiki looked at doto , frozen in shock.
"T-taiki? Did i say something?? Is there someone behind me?!" Doto immediately trembled, oh god what was it?! Doto excepted the worst but..
"YOU MEAN A PARTY?!?!"
Oh! Thats why taiki was frozen.
"Y-yeah..! Like that! Again i can invite opera O and others!!"
"INVITE YOUR TRAINER TOO!!! INVITE EVERYONE! OHH I CANT WAIIT!!!" Taiki sprung up out of her chair and started flailing about, the thought of a biiig party with all of her friends, rivals and even trainers was like a dream.
"Pinch me doto! I swear I'm not dreamin!"
Doto did pinch taiki but just to make her feel better.
"Taiki i think a party with everyone in tracen would cause a ruckus. Maybe we can just keep it to a few of us, like opera, rice, fuku and haru! I can invite kiseki as well.. she's been wanting to hang out a bit more."
Well, she was right. A party with EVERYONE in tracen academy would be a nightmare and the set time would also be difficult since some liked to do some extra training at night or got permission to do night training but that was only a limited few that could actually do that. Plus doto did realise that some were light sleepers (doto was a very light sleeper.) introverts or just didnt like parties in general.
"Awh.. but still! A party is a party no matter the size!" Taiki was only bummed by it slightly but it didn't matter to her, any time taiki found a challenge in her path she found a way around it!
"So, let's try and host a small party soon! We can invite the whole gang! How bout that?" Taiki gave doto a small smile, she meant it.
"Uwawa..!? I-i mean i wouldn't mind asking Opera O.." doto returned the smile but just as she did..She got locked into a big bear hug by taiki, squeezing her as hard as she could.
"AAAHH DOTOO!!! THANK YOUUUU!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I'LL MAKE THIS PARTY ONE TO REMEMBER!!" Taiki put doto down, they sat back in their seats to finish their food and thanked the person in the truck, leaving to go back to the tracen dorms.
It was getting slightly late anyway. They'd be in hot water if hishiama or kiseki found out they arrived awfully late.
Taiki made sure they'd have that party, she promised.