A Summer Afternoon

One hot afternoon in August, on the day of Limit of Heat.

Kitano expertly parked the car in the open space in front of Nishiken Farm.

Before getting out, he casually grabbed a baseball cap and put it on.

As he pushed open the car door, the heat and humidity of the summer afternoon immediately wrapped his body in an invisible, heavy film.

In an environment like this, even the most precise machine would probably slacken.

Still, he had to pull himself together.

As he thought that, Ogawa Masaru from the farm side had already come over to greet him.

"Good afternoon, Kitano!"

After greeting him, the boy looked in surprise at the Prancing Horse logo on Kitano's cap.

"So you're a Tifosi too, Kitano?"

He became a little excited.

It seemed the two of them shared a common interest.

"I guess so."

Kitano raised a hand to adjust his cap and answered vaguely.

This year, his career as a horse owner had, for the time being, gone smoothly.

But his fortunes as a racing fan had not been nearly as good.

To some extent, a considerable part of Kitano's good temper and ability to remain unruffled came from being a Tifosi.

Sometimes, he wondered whether he had committed some heinous sin in a past life to be reincarnated as a Ferrari fan.

"At least Xia Lulu is only two points away from returning to fourth in the drivers' standings."

Ogawa Masaru patted his shoulder, wearing an expression of genuine sympathy.

Xia Lulu was the Ferrari Team's lead driver.

At those words, Kitano's expression became even more pained.

"Forget it. Let's not talk about that."

Waving a hand, Kitano headed toward the rear of the car.

"Let me handle it, Kitano."

Ogawa Masaru got there first and lifted the heaviest TENS electrotherapy unit.

"Are you sure?"

Kitano asked.

Unlike the more compact household models, the one he used was a specialized model for large livestock.

Naturally, it was much heavier than a household unit.

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

The boy flashed a confident smile that said, "No problem at all."

"Then I'll leave it to you."

Kitano nodded and picked up the remaining tools.

With his free hand, he also picked up the cardboard box containing the hay.

He looked slightly strained.

He set the tools on top of the cardboard box and used both arms to carry it.

That made things much easier.

The two headed toward the stable, one after the other.

Today, Mejiro Sakuya still needed treatment with electrical stimulation therapy.

Although three weeks had passed since the treatment began and her gait had improved to some extent,

Kitano had not immediately reduced the frequency of treatment out of caution.

Of course, TENS alone was far from enough.

Other therapies, such as hot compresses, hydrotherapy, and traction exercises, were also doing their part.

When they arrived at the stable, Ogawa Kanna was already waiting in the wash area with the bay mare in hand.

While Kitano assessed the affected limb, Ogawa Masaru soothed Mejiro Sakuya's nerves.

In fact, even during her first treatment, she had seemed extremely calm.

At one point, Kitano had even wondered whether he had forgotten to turn on the power.

He wiped Mejiro Sakuya's skin with alcohol swabs and quickly finished the cleaning and preparation process.

The bay mare looked composed, her lips slightly parted in a relaxed state.

After that, he began placing the electrode pads.

He was already familiar with the points of nerve abnormality, so there was no need to locate them again.

Electrode pads were quickly placed along the sciatic nerve pathway, from her hip down the back of her hind leg.

Then came the outer side of the hind leg, around the gastrocnemius muscle.

One pad went at the origin of the spasming muscle and another at its insertion. He applied them symmetrically, occasionally adding medical conductive gel.

Throughout the process, Mejiro Sakuya remained standing quietly.

Before the treatment officially began, Ogawa Masaru rested the bay mare's head on his shoulder and stroked her again and again.

Mejiro Sakuya's eyelids were half-closed, and her furry ears drooped loosely to either side.

"Everything's ready."

With his back to Kitano, Ogawa Masaru gave an OK sign with his other hand.

After confirming that everything was prepared, Kitano switched on the machine.

First came an intensity of 5 mA.

The bay mare's muscles began to twitch slightly, but she showed no extreme reaction.

He slowly increased the current.

At last, Mejiro Sakuya let out a nervous little whimper.

"Don't be scared, it'll be over soon—"

Ogawa Masaru used his palm to cover the bay mare's eyes as she tried to look back at her own body.

Ogawa Kanna followed by offering her chunks of carrot.

With the two working together, Mejiro Sakuya's attention was quickly diverted.

The treatment continued smoothly.

While recording the parameters, Kitano kept a close watch on Mejiro Sakuya's reactions.

If an injured horse kicked or swished its tail during electrical stimulation therapy, it was very likely that the current was too strong and causing burns or discomfort.

In such cases, the current needed to be adjusted promptly according to the horse's response.

However, until the fifteen-minute treatment ended, Mejiro Sakuya showed no such movements.

It was hard to say whether she was simply too dull to react.

Of course, it was also possible that Ogawa Kanna's carrot offensive had successfully distracted her.

Kitano had always been concerned about that.

He slowly lowered the current to zero before switching off the machine.

After removing the electrode pads, he applied aloe vera gel to the corresponding areas.

There had been no signs of redness or swelling during the previous treatments, but he did it anyway to reduce irritation to the skin.

At that moment, Mejiro Sakuya finally swallowed the carrot chunks she had thoroughly chewed.

Ogawa Masaru unclipped the lead rope, and the bay mare unhurriedly walked toward the water trough.

While she lowered her head to drink, he picked up a cloth and wiped the sweat from her body.

Outside the stable, the intermittent calls of cicadas drifted in.

Before they knew it, summer had already entered its final stretch.

"Thanks for the effort, Mr. Kitano."

Ogawa Kanna said, drawing her gaze back from the man and horse.

"No, thank you."

Kitano, who was packing up the medical equipment, raised his head.

"You've been taking care of these three children for me all this time."

He replied softly.

"Mr. Kitano is a very gentle person."

Suddenly, the girl covered her mouth and laughed.

Was that a nice-guy card?

Kitano wore a slightly confused expression.

He suddenly recalled an aria from Verdi's opera Rigoletto:

"La donna e mobile, qual piuma al vento."

Translated, it meant, "Women are fickle as drifting fluff, swaying with the wind without constancy."

At that moment, he and Verdi reached an understanding.

When he stepped out of the stable, vast cumulonimbus clouds above the grassland had been dyed red.

Even after leaving Nishiken Farm, Kitano still could not figure out what Ogawa Kanna had meant by those words.