A while later, I finally managed to finish my BBQ platter with the help of a young Taiki Shuttle. I already knew that finishing it all in one go was impossible, but I couldn't help but feel ashamed at the fact that Taiki managed to eat more than half of my platter, showing that my own stomach was somehow smaller than a child's.
That aside, everyone else finished eating not long after. Secretariat and Oguri easily cleaned their own platter, while Belno, Kitahara, and Musaka opted to take their unfinished meals back home. And after we returned our now emptied platters, we soon headed out,
And that was when pandemonium broke loose.
Perhaps seeing that we were done eating, a few of the customers soon approached to greet Secretariat. Soon, a few more followed suit. And not long after, every customer who'd been inside was now outside, taking their chance to greet America's greatest umamusume.
But that wasn't the end of it—far from it. Noticing the commotion, a few pedestrians approached to see what was going on, and once they saw that it was Secretariat herself, they soon joined in.
And before we knew it, half the town was gathered in front of the Golden Road BBQ, with Secretariat at the center of the chaos. The Big Red herself was more than happy at receiving all the attention, happily basking in the praises and compliments being thrown her way.
Thankfully, with all the attention being hogged by Secretariat, it meant that Team Kitahara was able to slip away without too much trouble.
Kitahara sighed in relief once they made enough distance away from the still-growing crowd. "By the Goddesses, that's one hell of a big crowd." He whispered, smiling wryly as he tipped his cap down. "That's an actual tsunami of people. Even Roppei-san would get flattened into a pancake if he got in the middle of that."
"It's Musaka, you fool!" Musaka shouted as he swung his cane at Kitahara, and his expression only grew more stormy as Kitahara deftly avoided his strike.
"America is scary…" Belno said, her face slightly pale as she saw the crowd gathered around Secretariat. There was easily hundreds of people by that point!
Only Oguri seemed entirely unbothered, and that was only because her eyes had remained focused on me. And specifically onto the small hand I was holding.
Taiki's eyes blinked in confusion as she saw the huge commotion.「Eh? What's going on?」She asked.「Is the bigger big sis famous?」
「She certainly is.」I said mildly.「Her name is Secretariat.」
She tilted her head.「Secr…Secretary?」
I snorted slightly, though I managed to hold back a laugh.「No, no, it's Secretariat, not Secretary.」I smiled slightly as I then saw Secretariat lift a young woman—presumably a fan—onto her shoulders with a massive grin.「She is also called the Big Red.」
Taiki's eyes widened at that.「Eeh~!? The bigger sis is the super cool umamusume my Mama likes talking about!?」
I blinked.「...That she is.」I eventually said, smiling slightly. I guess I shouldn't have expected much else—Taiki was still young after all, and she didn't seem to care much about things like fame or whatnot. So her only recognizing Secretariat as her mother's idol wasn't too far-fetched.
Suddenly, I heard hurried steps approaching, and I soon heard a woman shouting.「Taiki!? Where're you at, baby!?」
Taiki's ears twitched when she heard that, and she smiled brightly as she shouted back.「I'm here, Mama!」
Taiki's shout became a beacon, and not long after, an adult umamusume approached us. Her features were similar to Taiki's, just with her longer hair tied to a braid, and with her front covered by a stained apron. The woman's cerulean eyes softened in relief when she saw Taiki holding my hand, and she smiled.「Oh, thank goodness. I thought my baby just disappeared…」
I gently shook my head.「Apologies, ma'am. I did not intend to cause such a scare.」
The woman blinked, before she laughed brightly.「No, no! Ya did nothin' wrong, girl! Im'a just being a silly lil' goose.」She chuckled as she glanced at the massive crowd gathered around Secretariat.「Had a mild heart attack when'A first heard that Madam Secretariat was visitin' my little BBQ joint!」She then blinked.「Ah, right! Ma' name's Red Muffin! Just call me Muffin!」
I nodded as I placed a hand over my chest.「And I am Blossom Star. It is an honor to dine in your establishment, ma'am.」
「Aw, shucks~. It ain't a big deal, girlie.」She then paused as she processed what I'd just said.「Hold da' phone. Ain'cha the one who got 3rd in the [Japan Cup] a few months back?」
I smiled politely.「That I am.」I then patted the shoulder of the absent-minded Oguri.「And this here is Oguri Cap, who took home the crown.」
Muffin gasped as she finally made the connection, and she swayed slightly.「My, oh my. To think I'd ever be so lucky!」Her eyes then narrowed in worry.「But didn'cha get injured after that? Are ya' sure walkin' around is a good idea?」
I gently shook my head.「There's no need to worry. Oguri and I have already recovered.」I smiled.「In fact, I shall be racing in the [Santa Anita Handicap] in just a few days.」
Muffin smiled back.「Then I'll be sure to cheer ya' on!」
I nodded and smiled, before I gently patted Taiki's head.「Well, I believe it's time for us to part, Taiki.」I said, glancing at the way Secretariat was beginning to disperse the crowd, likely preparing to head back to the parking lot we parked at.「Our time here is over, I'm afraid. And I must return to prepare for my upcoming race.」
Taiki's ears drooped when I said that, but she soon perked back up when she heard I was about to race.「You'll race here, big sis!?」
I nodded.「I'll be running in a track in California, but you should be able to witness the moment through a televised recording.」I paused for a moment before I quickly turned to Taiki's mother.「Ah, the races here are indeed televised, right?」
「Most graded races are.」She confirmed.
I hummed.「As I said, you can watch me live on the television. So all you must do is wait.」
Taiki looked a little disappointed that I wasn't racing here specifically, but she soon smiled.「Then I'll cheer you on, big sis!」
I nodded with a small smile, and after giving Taiki one last hug, I returned her to her mother.「We shall be off now, ma'am.」I bowed.「May the Goddess' blessings be upon you.」
Muffin smiled gently.「It already has, dearie.」She picked Taiki up into her arms, and she softly patted Taiki's head.「Alright, say goodbye, baby.」
「Bye bye, big sis!」Taiki called out as Muffin soon began carrying her back towards the BBQ restaurant. I returned a small wave as I watched her mother carry her away, and once they were far enough, I sighed tiredly as I finally stripped away the persona I'd been relying on for the past several minutes.
Musaka snorted as she saw me crouch down and groan. "Finally back, girl?"
"Yeah, yeah." I whispered, dragging a hand across my face. I really wanted to speak to Taiki like normal, but with the crowd watching me, I'd instinctively curled into my heroic persona as a form of a defense, and by the end, it would've felt awkward if I suddenly switched back. By the Goddess, I wish Taiki's perception of me wouldn't morph into something even weirder by the time we next meet.
Suddenly, I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder, and I looked back to see that it was Oguri. I returned a weak smile. "Sorry for not speaking to you at all during that." I said with a small sigh. "I just didn't want to disappoint Taiki-chan during all that."
Oguri stared for a moment, before she nodded. "That's okay. That girl was cute."
My smile widened. "Right?" My cheeks warmed slightly as I remembered the way Taiki called me her 'big sis' over and over. "She's just so cute~"
Oguri hummed softly as she saw me physically melt due to Taiki's cuteness, before she suddenly spoke,
"Star, do you want to have kids?"
I choked harshly as I heard what Oguri said, and I quickly turned to her with an expression of abject horror. Oguri just tilted her head slightly, confused as to why I looked so horrified.
And I wasn't the only one. Belno froze still as she processed what Oguri said, before her face soon turned completely red. Kitahara, who'd been glancing around at the nearby buildings, actually tripped and fell onto his face when he heard what Oguri said. Even Musaka turned to stare at Oguri in complete silence, his jaw slightly agape.
My cheeks turned warm as I stared into those bright blue eyes. "W-W-What's with the question!?"
Oguri blinked as she tilted her head. "You looked like you had a lot of fun with her." She said.
I blinked back, and then sighed when I realized what she meant. "Oh. So that's what you meant." I said, laughing weakly. "I mean, it's still a long way off until then, y'know? We're still teenagers after all."
Even then, my mind couldn't help but wonder about that possible future. I could almost picture it; us a decade into the future, having officially become partners for the rest of our lives, with a kid of two we'd adopted and now lovingly called as our own-
My already red cheeks blushed even further, and I quickly slapped my cheeks as I tried to rid myself of that strange fantasy I'd conjured.
In the end, I could only groan softly as I placed my face into my hands.
.
.
.
And in doing so, I missed the way Oguri's eyes gleamed as she watched me melt with embarrassment, nor did I notice the way she subtly stepped closer, letting her tail wrap around my leg.
Belno certainly noticed though, and combined with Oguri's previous words, the stimulation caused the great Divine General to eventually fall unconscious..
Musaka just sighed and grumbled under his breath.