His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper on stone.
"Dinner first. Then the hot spring."
He didn't look back, his gaze fixed on the lights of the room service cart in the corner. Yorozuya Eiyuu just stood there. "The money... we can't afford it."
Eiyuu's heart sank a little. She knew he was probably still angry. But for some reason, he didn't seem to be.
"Yes," she replied, her voice small.
She got up, silently gathered her clean bath clothes, and headed for the door. Every step felt heavy, powerless. She opened the door, but she couldn't help but glance back one last time.
Sakikawa was already sitting at the table, his back to her, a notebook open in front of him as he prepared for his work. His silhouette was a lonely wall.
Eiyuu bit her lip, closed the door, and walked down the long, dark wooden corridor, the soft sound of her footsteps echoing in the silence.
Why? Why did my trainer suddenly become so quiet?
Was it because she had won? But that always seemed to make him more annoyed. Had he lost his temper? But he was always like this.
The hot spring was a beautiful, open-air bath. The courtyard was deep and secluded, paved with bamboo and natural stone. The hot, steamy air carried the unique scent of sulfur. Eiyuu sank into the warm water, a quiet sigh escaping her lips. The day's exhaustion and soreness melted away into the heat.
She looked up at the stone lantern, at her own reflection. The night sky in Hokkaido was very clear, a single bright moon hanging overhead. She didn't understand. She only knew that she had to follow this man, to become his sharpest spear. But did she really understand him?
The bath water gently lapped against her shoulders. She looked at the crescent moon reflected in the water, her mind a jumble of thoughts. The subtle fatigue in her body and the faint ache in her heart melted away with the steam.
Trainer is just a lonely person, she thought. He's had to deal with so many things, but he never asks for help. It's only natural for him to be in a bad mood.
I won't bother him. I'll just let him rest.
She tiptoed out of the bath, her heart feeling surprisingly light. She saw him as soon as she rounded the corner. He was slumped over the low table, an empty sake bottle beside him. His notebook was on the floor, the pages filled with his messy, spidery handwriting.
"Trainer! Are you alright?"
Eiyuu ran to his side in a panic. She took a step, then another, her wet feet slapping against the tatami mats.
Sakikawa didn't move. His body was limp, and if it weren't for the faint rise and fall of his chest, she would have thought he was dead. Only the slight furrow of his brow revealed his discomfort.
He wasn't angry. He was just... sad.
He was a human being. He felt pain.
He had pushed all his sorrow and exhaustion down, buried it under a wall of sarcasm and indifference, and then given all his strength to her.
Just as she was gently shaking his shoulder, she suddenly heard a soft, slurred mumble. It was so quiet she had to lean in to hear it.
"...Don't go..."
Eiyuu's hand froze. She held her breath and leaned closer.
Sakikawa's breathing was heavy with the smell of alcohol, but his voice was surprisingly gentle. "I'm not a good person... but you... you're a good... fool..."
"...My... money..."
Eiyuu froze. Her mind was a complete blank.
She stood there for a long time, watching the man who was so vulnerable in his sleep.
I'm not a good person...
I'm not a fool.
This wire-thin line that connected them, so toxic and yet so irresistible... was nothing like she had imagined. She finally understood. His harshness, his impossible demands, were all just a mask.
A mask that hid a powerful and lonely heart.
Eiyuu, who was usually so strong, now felt like a powerless child. She no longer wanted to try to figure out what her trainer was thinking. She no longer wanted to tangle with her own feelings.
Her head was clear of all thoughts. She was just... sad.
She took a deep breath, walked around to his other side, and gently lifted him onto her back.
She gently laid him down on the bed. He sighed in his sleep and curled up, his expression finally peaceful.
She looked back at the table. His open notebook was a dizzying mess of data and calculations. Her eyes fell on the name of a race she had never seen before: [The Kinshachi Sho]. Below it were a series of notes: 1800m, 1500m... and a detailed analysis of the opponent's characteristics and race tasks.
The cold, hard data on the page seemed to carry his warmth. Her hand, which had been resting on the page, trembled slightly. A faint blush spread across her cheeks.
She noticed a small ice bucket on the corner of the table. A Japanese-style pitcher was resting inside. She picked it up. It was still cold. He must have been trying to make himself a drink. Several small vials of bitters and a bottle of gin sat beside it.
He had been drinking alone.
She put the pitcher back and quietly left the room. She gently closed the paper screen, leaving him to his dreams.
"Trainer?" she whispered into the empty room.
There was no answer.
She peeked through the crack in the door. The moonlight streamed in, illuminating the figure on the bed. His face, which was usually a mask of indifference, was now calm and peaceful.
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