Wait Patiently on the Kyoto Racetrack

It was Kitasan Black.

Her eye sockets were red, plainly visible even in the dim twilight.

Her black hair was disheveled, her face still streaked with tears that had not yet dried and sweat from running. Grains of sand from playing in the park sandbox earlier clung to her tracksuit. She looked more bedraggled than she ever had before.

Yet those crimson eyes of hers burned in the dim light with a familiar glow—one even fiercer and more resolute than before.

That light was clear and pure, without the slightest trace of confusion.

She looked at Satono Diamond and directly picked up where her final "declaration" had left off. Her voice was still slightly hoarse from crying, but remarkably steady. "Yes—I heard it. Every single word, I heard—loud and clear."

Crown was startled, delighted, and worried all at once. "Little Kita?! When did you—you were here the whole time?"

Kitasan Black habitually tried to flash a goofy grin, but though the corners of her mouth twitched, she failed. In the end, she only wore a somewhat stiff yet utterly serious expression. "Hehe, well—uh, I forgot too. Probably from when you started talking about the kitten? Anyway, I'm sorry, Crown."

Then she turned to Satono Diamond and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Diamond. I—I just now—"

Crown hurriedly waved her hands, stumbling over her words. "Ah, if it's about the park, it really doesn't matter. We were at fault too—"

"I don't want to hear pointless words like that."

Satono Diamond cut off her elder sister. Her gaze remained calm as she looked at Kitasan Black, and her tone allowed no doubt. "You should know perfectly well what I want to hear."

3

Kitasan Black looked at Satono Diamond, at those tranquil eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything.