"R-really?" Seri stammered, holding the iron plate close to her flat chest. They were setting up the stand near the derby like planned, we've only got a day to prepare so we couldn't waste much time.
"You can't be serious…" Yui murmured by the stove, raising her head up at the news.
"You're gonna just leave us?" The tiny deer girl's eyes welled with tears, I instantly felt bad at the sight of it.
"It's not like that ok?? I mean, yeah I'm going to leave you two on your own, but I'll be around if things go wrong" I tried to explain, doing all I can to stop her flowing tears.
"I'll also be around for a decent while, just until it's time to actually check out the derby," Seri looked up at me, her tears still lingering but it stopped.
"Makes sense, you also want to support Bao on her big day, i'm sorry…" Would I be a terrible person if I said that never once crossed my mind?
"Y-yeah! She needs all the support she can get, she's going up against pros after all!" I lied, looking up to glance at Yui who just looked at me, her gaze peering into my soul. I swiftly looked away hoping she doesn't just sniff the truth out of me somehow…
But luckily for me she just simply turned away with a huff, clearly irritated but not saying a word about it, though In all truth me not being here would probably just give her more space to breathe…
"Fine, whatever," Yui said, flicking the stove's flame higher. "Just don't come crawling back when the batter starts exploding."
"Batter doesn't explode," I muttered, but she was already whisking something with enough force to make me shut up. Seri, meanwhile, had gone back to sorting plates, her hands moving mechanically, her eyes still cloudy.
I rubbed the back of my neck. Man… I feel like I just left a couple of puppies in a blizzard…
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── Kaiju Kanojo ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
"You're a new face…" A voice called out behind Bao as she stood on the track, ready to do a practice run before the event. She turned to see, a woman drenched in sweat walked up behind her. Leopard-like eyes make her stand out immediately. Her ears poked out of her blonde hair with a small mole under her lip.
"Oh, yeah this is my first time…" Bao murmured, a bit nervous when seeing the size of the track.
"Hey don't worry about it too much," She stretched.
Yea don't worry about it, not like our money is on the line or anything…
Bao nodded though she hadn't quite taken in her words as he eyes wandered the track, falling on another girl who ran as fast as she could across the track.
The girl skidding across the track didn't move like a champion—at first glance, she looked like someone in way over her head.
Her steps were uneven. Her posture wobbled at sharp turns. But somehow… she never fell.
Her movements, clumsy as they appeared, always snapped back into control at the last possible second—like a vine twisting in the wind but never breaking. She stumbled, slipped, and then surged forward with raw, stubborn momentum that made it impossible to look away.
She finally came to a panting stop near the track's edge, bent over with her hands on her knees. Dirt streaked her calves, and her hoodie—way too big for her small frame—hung lopsided off one shoulder. She looked more like someone who wandered in off the street than a serious racer.
Her eyes, though—wide, bright, and deep brown with vertical slits—told a different story.
"Is she… new too?" Bao asked quietly.
"Kinda, she's been on a losing streak ever since she joined lately…" she sighed, looking up to a voice, seeing her manager by the door. "Anyway… I gotta go here, good luck tomorrow!"
She pat's Bao on the shoulder and left.
"Thanks…" She muttered but it was too soft to the point she couldn't hear her. But her eyes would wander back to the girl who's running laps around this incredibly large field without break, concern in her eyes.