Chapter Text
Nighttime. All the Tracen Academy are sound asleep, resting from their daily hard work, both the trainees and the trainers. Although "all" is a bit of an overstatement... There was a place that was yet to go fully lights off
The frantic exhales and inhales broke the silence of the room 129. The lone dark-haired uma was lying on her bed, her distraught eyes locked on her frontview. Cafe could barely move a limb, all she could do was desperately try to keep her cool, but her body simply didn't listen. The panic took over, pierced each and every nerve of the dark-haired uma's body, the rigid terror clumping her veins like thrombosis. The entity was looming over her. Cafe could barely make out anything in the dark, but her senses for extraterrestrial were mote than enough. No, she didn't feel as if there was someone disturbing her sleep, she knew it. Although it didn't help a bit, only solidifying her growing fear. Yukino wasn't home, she was staying at her parents. Cafe was all alone to deal with the entity. The shadowy figure dashed around the room with each and every blink the dark-haired uma was bold enough to do. She forced her eyes to be open, as that was her only means of fighting the entity, the only thing that could seemingly stop it, but all has its limits and Cafe's retina was no exception. The entity kept getting closer and closer to the trembling uma, in a few seconds she was standing over her, blinding her with that sharp glare, devouring Cafe with her look until suddenly it all got interrupted. The entity finally opened its eyes, revealing their golden shine and a bang covering slightly covering the left side of her face. Cafe slowly began to pull herself together, looking at the familiar face watching over her. Cafe began speaking, interrupted by her puffing
"Sunday... You've scared... The daylights... Out of me..."
Cafe's friend sat on the edge of the bed and replied
"I've simply tried to make you snap out of it, but you were acting too frantic. Even for someone who's been stuck in her bed for a solid minute"
"I didn't hear a word you said, and yet I could see you clear as day... My body stopped listening to me and I began running out of breath... Like I've ran multiple marathons in a row with zero break... Must've been a sleep paralysis..."
Cafe could feel the distraught written all over Sunday's unexpressive face. She sighed under her breath and concluded Cafe's
Cafe carefully lifted herself from the bed and let go of the blanket she's been clenching all this time like a drowning man his lifebuoy. She looked down at the floor and continued
"I don't understand... I've barely drank any coffee past afternoon for 3 days... But still I can't get proper sleep... I can't wear myself out like this, I need to have some proper rest before the race... The Prix..."
"You may be overly nagging yourself about the Prix, but I'm more inclined to believe you're leaving something out" The tall uma figure looked deep into Cafe's eyes. Dark haired uma returned the gaze, her confused puppy pupils desperately trying to cover the growing tension in her thoughts. Suddenly Sunday decided to finally break the painfully long silence with a seemingly out of pocket question
"How's Agnes Tachyon been doing lately?"
Cafe lifted her eyes and faced Sunday with confusion, moments later she let out a tired, somewhat somber exhale and looked down again, avoiding any more eye contact
"Struck a nerve, didn't it?" Sunday got up from the bed. She placed her arms behind her back, slowly walking around the room, head facing up, while she kept on going "She's stuck on your mind just as much as that race. As if she's been nailed to your cortex. Care to spit it all out yourself or shall I be your training wheels?"
Cafe took her time to respond. She was fighting her own thoughts in that moment, with memories, no, not just memories, the flood of Tachyon all over her mind, like the Miyako tsunami. She was drowning in the notion of her, desperately grabbing for any loose plank to keep herself afloat. To get herself to shore or anything that would keep her away from the water. Yet deep down something snapped in Cafe: she couldn't keep her mouth shut about this forever
"That Satsuki Sho completely devastated her... Tachyon was barely scraping by, meanwhile doing her best to keep her face... Trying to sound unmoved or taking the piss... It didn't work though, even she couldn't believe what she said... And she knew we absolutely didn't either... I could read it on her face: she wanted to run again, but she still refused... All our efforts of convincing her were cut short... She kept to herself, still does... However I couldn't help but notice how she pretty much glued herself to me..." Cafe paused for a bit and reached her hand to the bedside table, in sort of a reflex she barely gave any thought to, an automated action, but suddenly she stopped herself halway through and pulled her arm back. She took a deep breath and kept going "It's true that we've been constantly stuck together whether by chance or not, but it became... It became more... Odd?... She's been watching me train almost every single day, sometimes from early morning to late evening... First few times she hid behind an excuse, which was "researching my speed" or whatever... Yet the last few times she didn't even bother bringing a notepad and a pen... She simply sat out there... Gazing directly at me with those big eyes of hers... Tachyon used to ramble on and on on and on about her research, experiments and whatnot each time we met, but now... She barely talks about herself... She asks me about the race, my routine... Follows me around more often than before... Like that ginger stray cat I fed that followed me all the way to the dorm... Though I couldn't help enjoying more of her company... But sometimes it wasn't enough... Something snapped and I... I..."
Cafe choked on her words, the embarassment ran through her head like power through a wire, her cheeks were visibly turning bright red. Sunday wasn't willing to wait, so she went in and hit the final nail
"You stole her lab coat. No need to beat around the bush, I know what happened". The monotonous tone of Sunday had a slight resemblance of annoyance and impatience
Cafe rapidly turned her head to Sunday, glaring daggers at her friend. After a moment of intense quiet passed, Cafe tried to defend herself
"I didn't steal it... She forgot it on her seat that one time she came to watch me train... I've been looking for her all over the Tracen to give her back her lab coat, but she wasn't there... So I... May have kept it for a bit longer than I should've... I got curious about how she can constantly wear with her sleeves constantly flailing around like ramen noodles... I followed my intrusive thoughts and took it on... It was so light, so comfy... And then it was as if I had completely lost control over my body... I kept fidgeting around and wrapped myself in that coat... I imagined Tachyon's arms in those sleeves... Embracing me from behind... And then I just buried myself into it... Almost like a blanket... I couldn't let go, not did I want to... When she stopped racing it was like a wall suddenly rose between us because we didn't train or race together any longer... Instead of pushing me away it made me more engrossed... I wanted to feel her more than ever before..."
Sunday noticed the eagerness and dreaminess building up in Cafe's words each passing second, but she wanted her to keep going and finally let it all out, so she didn't say a word and kept listening attentively while standing by her bed
"When I finally snapped out of it, I took the coat and brought it to our classroom... I... I don't know why I couldn't give it to her back personally... The next day she didn't say a word of it, and I kept my lips sealed too... I was ashamed to tell her the truth... But she knows, I'm sure of it... I was practically covered in that thing, it probably smelled coffee all over when I gave it back to her... So reckless... And for what... She's going to rub it in my face, I know it, she's just waiting for the right moment..."
Cafe instinctively reached her hand to the bedside table, yet again, and tried to grab something, something that wasn't there. On the spur of the moment she didn't realize she wrapped her fingers around nothing and moved it to her mouth, until she finally noticed that her skin felt no expected warmth, her nose catched no bitter aroma. Drinking somethin, in most cases coffee, helped Cafe keep her cool whenever she was in a horrid distress. It gives her the oh so needed breather, away from her rapid thoughts. This time, however, it was. She clenched her fingers into a fist to the point where they cracked of frustration, accompanied by the dark-haired Uma's disappointed exhale. The bedside table was empty on the top, nothing but a shut off lamp and a lone coaster
"I keep forgetting about the cup... That darn cup... It's been gone for quite a bit... I asked everyone I could... Looked everywhere I could... Not a clue where in the world I had even left it... It could've been fine, but this cup wasn't usual... It's a part of a limited series, it used to belong to my mom... She treated it like a lucky charm, told me how it managed to bring her and dad together on that one occasion... They were both hunting for it on that one flea market where they first met... The odd thing about that cup, so attractive for both of them, was that it was never meant to be made in the first place... There were only 2000 cups released in the series, and yet they mistakenly made a 2001st one and somehow it found its way to that flea market... Mom gave it to me when my first year at Tracen started... I've been keeping it with myself ever since, I treasured it more than anything... I can't believe I could just lose something that important..."
Sunday noticed Cafe clenching her fists at the blanket yet again, while her breathing slowly grew more and more intense. The tall figure realized she might've overdone it. Sunday saw all the turmoil Cafe's been going through, she was aware of how deeply rooted this whole spectacle was. The upcoming race on foreign grounds was far from the cause, it was simply a catalyst that intensified the reaction. Sunday wanted Cafe to finally get somewhat of a closure, but now she's somewhat regretful about pushing her friend back to this frantic state of mind she had found her in earlier. Sunday stood up from the bed and walked to the window, looking out at the night sky, thinking what to do. After a few moments she turned back to Cafe and told her
"It's getting late. You'd rather go to sleep now or else you'll regret it tomorrow morning"
Dissatisfied, Sunday stood up and prepared to leave the room until Cafe stopped her
"I can't... My body is still full of energy... I can't fall asleep like this... I need some air..."
"At this hour? Really?"
Sunday frowned at her sleepless friend, but she couldn't say anything. Realizing she was the one who enabled her to go this route, to indulge herself in these thoughts, she let out a defeated sign
"Alright then. At the very least please take on a coat, can't have you catch a cold"
After Cafe took on her boots they both left the dorm and began walking under the starry sky. Cafe gave up futilely trying to make sense out of all the things that's been going on around her, as she simply accepted her powerlessness in face of it all. She began quietely counting her steps to lay her mind off all this rubbish, to make her head as light as a balloon so she can finally go back to sleep and move to another day
153, 154
Not even the fireflies dared to disturb the peace and quiet of the night. Perhaps they've been enamoured by it too. Cafe is quite fond of midnight strolls like this, but after noticing how it sometimes completely wrecked her sleeping schedule, her trainer had to restrict her nighttime walks so that she'll get full 9 hours of sleep for her to be fully refreshed for the morning training. She pretty much forgot about it at that moment. All she could her was a gentle whistle of the autumn breeze. So enchanting that it completely overtook her thoughts, as if she's got disconnected from her body. Her legs kept walking her. Cafe wasn't conscious about the direction she was moving in, she left it up to mere chance to decide. She couldn't bother with it, all she wanted was her peace. The Prix is too big for her anyway, why bother? Training or not training, that ground is too tough for her soft foot to hold
211, 212
Sunday was completely silent the whole walk, she didn't want to disturb Cafe any further. Only ocassionally she checked if her friend wasn't falling asleep while walking. The last thing she'd want to witness that night was Cafe passing out in the middle of the street at this god forsaken hour. Meanwhile the dark-haired uma kept calmly strolling, with not a single care in the whole round world. It all became so insignificant in her eyes. That cup was never meant to exist anyway, perhaps the good will of fate finally had its mercy on it and took it where it should've been all along. She'll get herself a new one, it's not like the coffee would suddenly taste worse. The drinkware is never as important as the beverage itself
431, 432
The mere chance brought her to the closed gates of the Tracen Academy. Obviously the place was off-limits at this hour, but Cafe was in no rush to turn around and go back home. She looked up at the gates and came closer, she grabbed the fence with both her arms and lifted her leg a bit. Sunday suddenly appeared right before the dark-haired uma's eyes
"You're not going to climb, are you? You're no amateur, but it's dark out here and you're not exactly in good shape for such activity. You'll hurt yourself"
Cafe didn't bulge nor heed her friend's warnings. As if something began pulling her to the Tracen. An invisible force seemingly took over here and began calling to her from the other side of the gate. The dark-haired uma followed the call, almost effortlessly climbing over the fence and landing on the other side, right on the well-renowned Tracen soil
"Do what you will" Sunday's patience finally broke. When Cafe turned around the tall uma was already gone. She had simply disappeared. Just as sudden as she popped up in her dorm room earlier, unsurprisingly with little to no trace, subtle as the soft wind running through the uma's legs.
The dark-haired uma brushed it off and finally took off. There was only one thing she could think about: the classroom, the one she uses to store all the encharmed objects, her personal place of power she's been sharing with Tachyon for such a long time. She could barely notice how almost in a blink of an eye she moved from the street to the halls of Tracen. Cafe saw the goal, but barely any obstacles. However, orienting in the lightless corridors proved to be quite of a hassle. Her eyes were stammered in all the darkness, but she kept moving forward trying not to hit anything on her way.
Cafe heard nothing but her foot hitting the polished floors of the hallway for a while until her ears caught on barely intelligible speech, coming from down the corridors. The dim light coming from a half-open door was contrastingly blinding in the domain of her majesty midnight. It caught the dark-haired uma's attention and she slightly sped up to see the source of the light herself. The closer she got to the door, the more familiar and distinguishable the voice became. It was no speech, but singing. The longing tone almost sounded like howling, yet all the notes were on point.
The voice down the hall let out another "howl", but this one was much more desperate, prolonged and, in a way, pathetic
"Please keep me in mind..."
Cafe finally reached the door. She hesitently placed her palm on the handle and gently pushed the door away from herself, revealing who's been hiding behind it all along
And there she was. In her usual position. The short-haired uma was sitting in her office chair, headphones covering her ears, the shiny white coat hanging on the back with its right sleeve a few inches away from the floor. The table was a mess with random pieces of paper scattered around, thanks to the light from the lamp Cafe could somewhat make out the scrambly notes on the paper, but also something else that caught her off-guard... Drawn sketches of her...
At this point the dark-haired uma considered the idea that whatever is going on in front of her at the moment is a part of the dream and really she's just lying face front on Tracen's well-renowned soil after a failed attempt to climb the fence. This notion solidied itself after she had moved her eyes up to the hands of the uma before her. Her fingers tightly wrapped around the handle of a snow white cup, contrasted by a face of a black cat with a yellow bow tie and thin galanthus whiskers. The short-haired uma was taking a prolonged sip from the cup, her lips entwining the cup in a strange way, almost like she was.. kissing it? Her eyes were fully focused on the beverage, so she couldn't notice Cafe in absolute awe, looking down upon her from the door
The dark-haired uma slowly stepped inside, regaining her composure from the shock that hit her like a hurricane that second. The short-haired uma removed the cup from her mouth, huffing and puffing like a chimney after drinking so much of the hot coffee. From the corner of her eye she finally noticed the unexpected, yet a dearly desired guest
"Tachyon..."
The music that's been blasting through the short-haired uma's ears for hours upon hours on end was weak against Cafe's voice. Even the crack that made it even quietter couldn't stop it from piercing her headphones. She was caught right on the act, in the most pathetic and shameful position she could ever bear to see herself in. The violent silence quickly took over the room