"What's wrong? You look so down."
"It's nothing, I'm just… thinking."
But Mejiro Ardan could already see through some of it.
What sort of thing could make Gotham Song linger like this, wearing a little-dog expression as if she were afraid of being abandoned?
"Is it about that Twilight Song in the Dream Cup?"
"Ah—no, no, it's not…"
Song denied it instinctively, but once she met Ardan's concerned gaze—that look that saw right through her—she only gave a small nod, admitting it.
"A little… okay, a lot. I just… I can't figure it out. If the Dream Cup really has a completely different Twilight Song… then what exactly am I?"
"Then of course Song is Song. There's really nothing to hesitate about here, my silly little sister."
Ardan's tone held a trace of exasperation, but she fully understood. If one day she herself heard that the Three Goddesses would bring forth a stronger, flawless, unbreakable Mejiro Ardan… she might sink into this same state.
It wasn't something easy to brush off—it would be a denial of her entire past.
And since it was the Three Goddesses saying so, there was no comfort to be found in thinking it might just be false news.
But Ardan hadn't experienced this herself—and that was exactly why she could step outside it and speak with a clearer head, to steady Song.
"If there really were such a Twilight Song… I think I wouldn't mind being her Ardan-nee as well. Ramonu-nee would be the same."
"Eh…?"
Saying this, Ardan shifted onto her back and pulled Song up into her arms. She held her gently, soothing her little sister, who now looked completely at a loss over those words—then spoke the more important half.
"But! That would only mean we'd have one more person to look after. And even if she really is Twilight Song… she's not Gotham Song."
"Wait—wait, I don't get it. Ardan-nee, don't say it in such vague terms… Even if it's bad, just tell me clearly…"
Song's voice dropped low; her eyes lowered, her whole mood slumping like someone caught in the rain again.
Ardan brushed her bangs aside and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
"But Song—Twilight Song is your past. And the one here with us now is you—not that little sister who's gone and can never return."
"We've been through so much together. If Twilight Song belongs to the past, maybe back then we would have loved her more—it's possible. Because for who we were then, Twilight Song was the only one we could see."
Ardan felt she'd explained it clearly, but Song still looked up at her with those pleading eyes.
How long had it been since she'd seen her like this?
The last time Song had been this soft, this insecure, was years ago—before that rainy day at the Arc, before she'd coughed blood on the track and been cornered head-on.
Ah… my silly little sister. We've always been accomplices—do you think only Twilight Song has ever been bound by this feeling?
Wrong. Accompliceship is for life—it surpasses even lovers in closeness. Even with a changed name, we are still…
Ardan took her hand, pressing Song's palm to her own chest so she could feel the heartbeat, and leaned her cheek against her sister's.
Accompliceship means that even with changed names and identities, we are bound forever, inescapably.
No one escapes. No one.
But perhaps unless she said it outright, Song wouldn't be at ease.
Guessing and understanding were one thing; hearing it confirmed aloud was another.
"But that's for who we were back then. Now—after all we've been through, now that we've found you again—how could we abandon the dear little sister before us for some past that's caught up?"
"No one can take you from us. No one. And in the end, Song…"
Ardan reached to turn off the lamp by the bed, plunging the room into darkness, and held her close under the covers. She left only one last line as her promise and affirmation:
"We're accomplices for life. For life, understand?"
Beyond life and death, beyond time itself—bound only to each other's souls in a tie more private and steadfast than love, romance, life, or kinship—an accompliceship that will never break, existing all the way to tomorrow, the far shore, and the future.
Ardan said no more. She only let Song lean against her, listening to the heartbeat that had always been here.
Somewhat soothed, Song didn't speak either, just held her sister tighter, seeking her presence.
But she did come to understand something of the feelings of those around her.
In the end, Twilight Song was someone of the past. She'd lived through everything Twilight Song had—and more. Twilight Song hadn't shared moments with the people around her that Song had.
Ruby and the others had never even met Twilight Song. In that case, what was there to fear from a ghost that existed only in the past?
There was no need for Gotham Song to fear Twilight Song at all.
She was just a remnant from before—a shadow chattering on from the past, trying to return again and again. All that was needed was to defeat her.
Completely. In every possible sense.
At the Dream Cup, crush the self that should never have caught up to now.
Yes—that's all she needed to do.
Dream Cup, is it? Looks like there's now an unavoidable reason to run.
Song felt she'd found a barely passable excuse to calm herself down, telling herself so over and over. In the pitch-dark night, unable to sleep, she could only listen to Ardan's heartbeat.
And somehow, at some point, she blinked and found it was morning.
What surprised her was that Ardan was still holding her, lightly dozing—and Gentildonna hadn't shown up on time today.
What? At this hour?
The clock's hands sat at around 11:30. The abnormality was enough to leave Song momentarily unsure how to react.
Normally, Gentildonna would have come to her room before 9:30. Why not today…?
Never mind—Gentildonna had her own matters. It wasn't a problem. Taking it easy a little seemed fine.
…Not that that's why Song didn't want to get up.
Rather—
Hehe, Ardan-nee is so pretty.
They were still entwined, inseparable on the bed. With her head pillowed in her sister's arms, Song had the perfect view—
She could clearly see Ardan's serene face in deep sleep, a few stray locks of hair framing it, the slanted sunlight touching one side. It was… something hard to put into words.
Uh… appetizing, in a way she wouldn't dare voice?
She forced herself to calm down from that absurd thought, and then—
Just kept looking at her sister's sleeping face.
By the time she came back to herself, it was nearly noon. She finally pulled herself from bed with great effort, quietly washed and dressed, and left without waking Ardan. From the residential wing, she headed toward the livelier parts of Mejiro Manor.
But then she caught Gentildonna's inexplicable look, and her curiosity stirred.
Wait—Gentildonna was here?
And why was she looking at me like that?
Song couldn't read her expression—it was… some odd mix of envy and confusion, tangled into something she couldn't decode.
She hadn't done anything strange enough to make Gentildonna look at her like that… unless it was just because she'd gotten up so late?
"In fact, I did come to wake you this morning, Miss Song. But Miss Ardan told me to let you sleep longer. That's why it's so late now."
"Ardan-nee? At nine o'clock in the morning… huh?"
Song frowned. Her sister's routines were usually exact to the minute. This was strange.
Just how disciplined was Mejiro Ardan? She was the most perfectly mannered horse girl in the entire manor—more so than Ramonu. For her to break her schedule for something else was highly irregular.
"Don't overthink it. She probably noticed you weren't sleeping, and stayed up with you until you finally did. And by the time you were asleep, it was nearly morning. She must have waited for Gentildonna to come before going to sleep herself."
So… Ardan-nee only truly fell asleep at that time?
Song went silent, looking at Mejiro Ramonu, who'd just given the explanation while reading her paper. She didn't know what to say.
"Even just for the sake of not betraying that kind of care—don't be afraid of that one chasing from the past, Song. She's not your match, right?"
"Ah… y-yes. Definitely not."
Her feelings were complicated now, but there was one thing she could say for certain—
Her family really did love her deeply. Ramonu was right. No matter what—
Even if it was that past self chasing her…
You're still the past. If you overreach and challenge me, then I'll shatter you completely.
Did you really think I've been like this for two days because I was afraid of losing to Twilight Song?
Challenging me, even my past self won't do!
Song swore in her heart—she would defeat that "imposter" in the Dream Cup utterly, and declare her uniqueness to the entire world.
That's how it should be. She was the new Gotham Song—far beyond the past, far stronger. An outdated Twilight Song wasn't nearly enough to challenge her.
A ghost lingering in the past shouldn't try to crawl out and trouble the living.
Ramonu said nothing more. She only smiled faintly at the sight of Song revived, her whole being burning again.
Was that really what Ardan had done?
Probably. But Ramonu didn't know—she hadn't slept with the two of them. She was just making a deduction.
But did it matter?
As long as it lifted Song's spirits, the rest didn't.
Ramonu glanced back to her paper—specifically, a certain photo on one page—and clicked her tongue in annoyance.
She'd need to find a way to get those two old monsters away from her sister…
Surely, as old and new legends both, they wouldn't have that kind of idea about her… right?
Still—whether they did or not, she'd have to make an opening.
"Song…? Huh? Where'd she go?"
Ramonu turned to speak, but the space behind her was already empty.
The big, adorable little sister was gone without a trace.
Where could she have gone? Probably to train—after all, she had the Arima Kinen coming up.
Four weeks from now… Arima Kinen. Never mind. She'd bring it up another time.
And this time, she wouldn't put it off until the chance was gone.