Shirayuki's body suddenly trembled, and she directly pulled free from Mejiro Dober's hand.
"What's wrong, Shirayuki?"
"N-No… nothing."
The corners of Shirayuki's mouth twitched twice before she barely managed to answer.
Among uma musume, there was such a term as a "tail hug." As the name implied, it meant wrapping one's tail around someone. It was a gesture of affection, something only done when the relationship was close to a certain degree.
An uma musume's tail had many nerves, making it very sensitive to the outside world.
They could use their tails to sense temperature and humidity. They could also feel the shape of whatever their tail touched through the hair. Its sensitivity was no less than the palm of a hand.
That was why grabbing an uma musume's tail was very dangerous. It was like suddenly invading their privacy. Most of the time, they would kick you without mercy.
If an uma musume entrusted her tail to you, or wrapped her tail around you, it meant that you were an irreplaceable existence in her heart.
Usually, an uma musume's tail was used to maintain balance while running at high speed, but that was not its only use.
Wrapping, pulling, brushing.
Different uma musume had different levels of control over their tails. The more they trained, the better they could use them.
And Rice Shower had clearly reached an extraordinary level when it came to using her tail.
The tip of her tail slipped beneath the edge of his clothes and wrapped around the man's body, gradually tightening. The soft, carefully maintained hair brushed against his skin.
Shirayuki pressed her legs together, suddenly restless.
Rice Shower!?
This is an amusement park!
This is a place for families to have fun! What are you doing!?
Shirayuki was shocked by Rice Shower. She never would have imagined that Rice Shower would do something like this in such a crowded place.
Why did another trial come right after Mejiro Dober!?
"Shirayuki, there are crepes over there. Let's try some."
Mejiro Dober, who had not noticed Shirayuki's abnormal state, pointed toward a roadside stall. After lowering her guard toward Rice Shower, Mejiro Dober had begun focusing on enjoying her date with Shirayuki.
After all, there was no way a grown man would kiss a small girl in front of so many people.
"Eh? Ah… okay."
Shirayuki's smile was stiff.
Rice Shower's movements were very subtle. From the outside, nothing could be seen at all. On top of that, her fluffy tail hair covered everything, so no one could discover that half of her tail had already slipped beneath the man's clothes.
"Onii-sama, the cotton candy is so good~"
Rice Shower's voice reached her ears.
In Shirayuki's mind appeared the girl's innocent smile. Her face and the movements of her tail did not match at all, to the point that Shirayuki almost wondered whether Rice Shower's tail had been possessed by someone else.
Stop… stop it, Rice Shower.
If anyone finds out, this will be terrible!
"Onii-sama, do you want some?"
Rice Shower offered over the cotton candy she had already touched with her lips.
At the same time, Shirayuki's steps staggered.
"Shirayuki! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I just stepped on a stone just now, ahaha…"
Shirayuki laughed awkwardly. She felt heat gathering through her body.
"It's the Ferris wheel, Onii-sama. Let's ride the Ferris wheel!"
Rice Shower took Fujiwara Chiya's hand.
"Here."
On this side, Mejiro Dober handed the crepe to Shirayuki.
"Are you tired, Shirayuki? Should we rest first?"
Mejiro Dober looked at Shirayuki, who had inexplicably begun sweating, and asked.
"Mm. Let's rest first."
She was having a little trouble moving her legs.
The pressure from the other side was too strong.
"Rice… Rice Shower…"
Fujiwara Chiya breathed unsteadily.
"Don't do this…"
"What's wrong, Onii-sama?"
Rice Shower blinked in confusion, but the excited redness on her cheeks had already betrayed her.
You're still asking what's wrong!?
Fujiwara Chiya could barely straighten his back now.
This little one's tail had been moving the whole time!
Could it be that today's Rice Shower was in bad-child mode?
Usually, Rice Shower was very obedient. She was Fujiwara Chiya's caring little angel. But he had once told Rice Shower that it was fine for her to be a little selfish sometimes, and to do things that were slightly unreasonable.
Because of that agreement, the final barrier between the two of them had been pierced through, and afterward things became impossible to stop.
From then on, Rice Shower split into her usual obedient mode and her occasional explosive selfish state.
Right now, Rice Shower was clearly in the middle of an outburst!
Was it because he had neglected her for too long recently? Was Rice Shower preparing to vent all the emotions she had been accumulating?
Even if it did not show on the surface, her inner self was gradually changing.
Fujiwara Chiya understood what Darley had told him.
If he took someone's kindness toward him for granted, an uma musume's feelings could begin to change.
Right now, there was already something frightening in Rice Shower's eyes.
This was not the kind of bold behavior that soft and adorable little girl from before could have done!
"Rice Shower, didn't we agree to play for the whole day…"
"Yes. Rice is very happy that Onii-sama invited Rice out. Rice will definitely enjoy Onii-sama for the whole day!"
Hm?
Wasn't the wording there a little wrong?
Rice Shower's tail moved faster and faster.
On the other side, Shirayuki suddenly went weak and collapsed.
"Shirayuki!?"
Mejiro Dober, who was eating her crepe, was startled. She hurriedly supported Shirayuki's body.
"Are you okay, Shirayuki? Are you sick? Where's Trainer-san? Where is Trainer-san?"
"No… I'm fine. I just feel a little light-headed… and my stomach feels uncomfortable…"
"Did you eat something bad?"
It would not be strange for Shirayuki, a glutton, to get an upset stomach from eating something.
Come to think of it, Trainer-san clearly ate so little. Why did Shirayuki never stop until she had eaten several large plates?
No, now was not the time to think about that!
Supporting Shirayuki, whose waist had gone soft enough that she could barely walk, Mejiro Dober hurried to the public restroom and brought her inside.
It took a full half hour before Shirayuki came out. By then, Shirayuki was repeatedly washing her face with cold water, calming herself down.
On the other side of the amusement park, Rice Shower was rinsing her tail in the restroom. Her face was flushed red.
The tail's sense of touch was even stronger than the hand's, so she had clearly felt that burning warmth.
After coming out, she found Fujiwara Chiya sitting on a bench, looking dispirited.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Onii-sama~"
The man lowered his head.
He no longer had the face to live in this world.
He had sullied this wholesome family amusement park.
Everyone else had clearly come here to have fun, so why had the atmosphere turned so different when it came to him?
"Do you want to rest for a while, Onii-sama?"
"This time was a little too much, Rice Shower."
No matter how much Fujiwara Chiya liked her, Rice Shower's actions had been far too bold. It would not make sense if he did not scold her at least once.
"Yes. Rice knows. Rice is a bad child."
Rice Shower lowered her eyes.
"But if Rice doesn't become a bad child, Onii-sama might forget Rice."
"That's impossible."
"Rice knows. There are many excellent people around Onii-sama. Rice is not the most outstanding one. So Rice will become a bad child. A bad child who makes Onii-sama troubled. That way, Onii-sama will keep looking at Rice."
No, this won't do!
Fujiwara Chiya did not want that obedient and adorable Rice Shower to spend every day doing this sort of thing.
Perhaps because Rice Shower was the first uma musume he had officially signed with, her feelings for him were the deepest. It was just that her timid personality rarely let her show them.
But Fujiwara Chiya did not want Rice Shower to seize his attention through this kind of method.
What he liked was that considerate little angel, not a little devil trying to squeeze him dry!
"I'm lying, Onii-sama."
Seeing the man's troubled expression, Rice Shower smiled.
"If Rice did that, it would trouble Onii-sama, right? Rice only needs Onii-sama to spend more time with Rice, and Rice will be satisfied. But if Onii-sama never comes to find Rice, then Rice will have no choice but to become a bad child."
She leaned against Fujiwara Chiya.
The man hesitated for a moment, then reached out and stroked her head.
"Sorry. There are many things I can't handle perfectly. But I can promise you this. No matter how busy I am, as long as you want me to stay with you, I will come."
"Yes, Onii-sama."
However, right now, Rice Shower had already begun to like becoming a bad child.