Work Text:
You groaned in exhaustion as you stumbled your way back home after working another long shift, with additional overtime because a fellow employee had got sick the day prior.
Working at the local convenience store was always draining since you always had trouble socialising with other people, ever since you were a child.
But the pay was barely enough to get you the small apartment you're currently living in... so that's good at least. Till inflation increases once again... then you would be in trouble.
Fishing out the set of keys to your room, you entered your small abode. Just a small flat with a kitchen, laundry room, bathroom, dining room and bedroom. Not exactly 5 stars, but it would do.
Making your way to the kitchen. You opened the pantry and grabbed one of the many instant noodles you had bought for occasions like this, when you didn't have the energy to cook.
After boiling some water in the kettle and placing everything in a bowl, you quietly ate your dinner that day as you quickly checked the microwave timer to see what time it was.
8:07pm.
That means you had just under two hours before you had to go to bed to ensure you got the full eight hours of sleep and were prepared to work the very next day.
Quickly finishing up the remainder of noodles and stacking the dirtied bowl in the growing pile of dishes. You made your way back to your room.
Upon arriving, you wasted no time hopping onto your computer and waiting for the device to boot up for the day.
After a moment, the familiar lock screen appeared as you quickly entered your account password.
The home screen soon appeared as you moved your mouse and clicked on a video game you had installed on the hard drive.
Umamusume. Pretty Derby.
Yeah, Yeah. You were a video gamer and a weeb. Due to your awkwardness in socialising, you didn't really have a lot of friends to play with due to that issue. Video games were the only things you enjoyed playing these days, and passing the time.
It was also to help you stave off the loneliness of being a single 19-year-old. True to be told, you weren't exactly pretty, but not exactly ugly... just average enough to not be viewed with disgust.
Anyways. You found this game after watching a YouTube content creator play it during one of their streams. And seeing the game had hooked you in.
Training cute anime girls with horse ears and tails, based on real-life horses, and watching them race against other umamusume was enjoyable. Sometimes you unknowingly cheered for your trainee as they raced.
Over the game's lifetime. More and more umamusume were introduced to the game, including their support card. Some were mid. Others were not amazing in your own opinion. But each new trainee and the new scenarios that were added were fun.
The umamusume you really enjoyed having was the Gilded Shrine to Glory umamusume.
Kitasan Black.
She was a cheerful and helpful umamusume despite her inferiority complex when you first saw her. You slowly came to appreciate it when you finally found out she loves helping those in need with her surprisingly tanky body, despite her size.
Plus, she enjoyed festivals, and she was pretty cute. Not that you would tell anyone.
So when her banner eventually came. You wasted no carrots to unlock her.
2547, while not enough for pity. You had a feeling you would get her.
But 10 pulls after 10 pulls and no such luck. And you were down on your last 10 pulls.
That was when you finally unlocked her.
Seeing the rainbow-stating gates appear, your hopes were up as you realised you were getting a three-star uma. Those hopes rose even further when her silhouette appeared, and you cheered as you finally got her.
You had done your best not to spoil yourself of any spoilers about her, but now that you have her unlocked, you checked everything the game had for her. Bio. Character story and secrets.
You could help but laugh when you saw one of her secrets, which stated she usually fell in love with the first thing she saw. Which also made you think about how love would work for her when she graduates and wants to marry someone.
Anyways. You entered the game, and Kitasan greeted you on the home screen, delivering the usual evening dialogue as you began your daily tasks.
Opening the career you selected Kitasan as your trainee, and you played a normal updated URA final scenario career for the day.
Humming to yourself, you casually played the game. Slowly raising Kitasan's states for a long build as you occasionally challenge Happy Meek for those sweet bonuses.
You also watched all the character scenes involving Kitasan Black. Normally, you would skip all scenes during the run after you read them. But watching Kitasan's events was something else. How she interacted if she ran the triple crown or not. Running both the triple spring and autumn triple crown.
An hour later, you watched Kitasan Black happily run, waving to you on the completion screen, with a gold SS rank you somehow managed to achieve with her.
"God, she is cute... If only she were real... maybe my awkward self would finally have someone to company." You mumbled to yourself as you visited the mission screen to collect the day's quest.
Upon claiming them, you exited back to the home screen as you hit the exit button to return to the menu and close the game.
Moments after Steam synced the game to the cloud, you soon shut down your computer and prepared yourself for bed for tomorrow.
However, even though you had shut the game down. Something else was happening within the game.
Something you or anyone would expect was happening within your computer.
Or more specifically, your copy of Umamusume.
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(Inside the game)
Kitasan Black sighed sadly as she watched the mysterious window that showed God, the one who created the three Goddesses and the world, disappear in front of her in the middle of Tracens main lobby.
She still felt the warmth of embarrassment at being called cute by them. The one she had fallen in love with the moment she first saw them.
You see. The first thing she remembered was the dull coldness as she woke up at the entrance of Tracen. She couldn't remember exactly how she got there. Still, the university welcomed her and her friend Satono Diamond to the campus. From there, she easily chatted with fellow students, teachers and trainers.
Yet any interactions she performed felt lifeless and meaningless. The days were monochrome and dull. Even though she happily helped the people at the local market, she didn't feel 'happy'...
It's kinda hard to explain.
Like she was just there, doing the actions... but not receiving any feedback from it.
But one day, as she was doing light training in the bleak world, waiting to do her own debut run. Everything around her suddenly froze, as if time had stopped.
At first, she was confused as to why everything stopped.
Then, just as suddenly as the world stopped. She found herself behind the starting gates. Donned in her racing outfit, she had ordered it to be tailored by one of the local tailors.
On either side of her were other umamusume. However, they were shrouded in darkness, and the only thing she could see was the basic shape of a normal umamusume.
She then heard the sound of a gate opening. Yet it seemed to be one at a time, as indicated by her watching the gates to her left open. At the same time, other umamusume ran out from them before disappearing. She could've sworn she saw Haru Urara running out of two separate gates...?
But then her gate suddenly turned rainbow and opened abruptly. Her body suddenly ran out on autopilot when she finally understood what was happening when she saw him.
God.
Until now, only a few Umamusume, like Haru, had been lucky enough to see God in his glory as they talked about it in the classrooms. Hallways or anywhere. How their world suddenly turned vibrant with colour as they were finally chosen to be one of many to run beside him.
And those who weren't chosen yet could only feel envy for them in their empty husks.
While yes, the three Goddesses created them. God was the original creator of everything in the universe. He created them. So seeing him was the greatest thing an umamusume could receive besides running to their hearts content.
And she was now one of the chosen.
And just like those before her. Colour soon saturated the world, and she felt more alive as warmth flowed through her.
But soon after. She found herself standing at the centre of the main building, and there in front of her was an odd ripple in space. It was a perfect rectangle, but what was inside it made her heart skip a beat... maybe two.
There at the centre of the rift was God.
And in her opinion, he was everything she could've imagined.
But the most concerning thing she noticed was the bags under his eyes. And the tired look he wore, even though he was smiling happily as he observed her.
She wanted to ask God why he was tired and what she could do to help him, to cure the tiredness or lessen the burden.
Yet when she wanted to open her mouth, it refused, then it spouted some nonsense about her father instead of her thoughts.
Not that it mattered.
It was only after she did one of the many career runs she heard about that she fell even more in love with God.
Apparently, he was a caring person who balanced her training. Doing training with other umamusume and giving her breaks when she was getting tired. Although they did risk some training when multiple other umamusume were present. Sometimes it worked. Other times, she found herself in the infirmary, with God apologising for failing her.
If she could still speak, then she would've forgiven him. But her body refused to respond.
Then, when she made her debut, she could hear God cheering for her; his encouraging words made her want to do better and win for them. And when she did win, she could hear God praising her. Which warmed her cheeks from the praise.
But when the time came, the rift would eventually close. Cutting the link from God to them.
That was also when the warmth would stop, and she would regain full control of her body.
She wanted to see God again, but after waiting for some time, nothing happened until her sempai, Tokai Teio, found her still standing there during her trip to her next class.
The senior student quickly asked Kitasan why she was still standing in the middle of the main lobby after God had left for the day. That was when the black-haired uma explained the odd feeling in her chest whenever she saw God. How her heart felt funny, with thousands of thoughts racing through her mind.
Teio only smirked at her Kohai's description before stating that the girl was feeling something similar to love. Yet this was most likely deep love, considering the state Kitasan was now in.
From that revelation. Kitasan finally understood the true meaning of her feelings. She loved many things when she first saw them. Yet this one was special. This was something that could change her future.
And she embraced it. Even if it was a sin for her to love the creator of their world.
Even if they couldn't be together.
So days passed by. Then months. She still wished she could speak to them. Yet she still could not speak to God properly.
And during that time, she learned more about God.
How they seemed almost human. Like those in her world.
She would continue to hear God praising her, calling her cute when they did a career.
But she would also hear some of the woes that plagued him. He had no friends to play or talk with. How life was a struggle to pay rent and keep a roof over his head for the night. How his diet was instant noodles, something unhealthy, which became the only meal he would have in the evening when it could've been something healthier, and watching them was the only thing that kept them sane in the world they were in.
Such cases only made her want to help them more and more. Just a word of comfort. A gift. Anything to lessen those troubles. Until today.
As she finally regained control. She decided she would do something to break her out of the bindings that shackled everyone when God arrived.
And then she could try to help him, with whatever abilities she had.
But first, she knew the two umamusume that could help her resolve this problem.
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"So you want to find some way to break these so-called 'shackles' that prevent you from speaking with God? I am understanding correctly?" Agnes Tachyon sceptically questioned Kitasan Black.
"Yes. I've wanted to speak to him for some time now... because he seemed to be suffering from things in his realm, and I want to help him. But I cannot even speak to him, let alone do anything about it... and I might be in love with him too." Kitasan Black responded while whispering the last part. Even though both Tachyon and Cafe heard her confession.
"You do know what you are doing should you walk this path?" Manhattan Cafe warned her. "This is something more dangerous than the spirit realm. This is both the fabric of space and time and the laws of our world that you are attempting to change. Such action would not go unnoticed by God, all the while causing repercussions to our world."
Kitasan Black's ears folded in nervousness as the two questioned her. Despite their strangeness, hearing them doubt or warn her did not sugarcoat the seriousness of what she wanted to do.
But she remained adamant in her decision.
Hearing Kitasan's choice, Cafe only sighed at the dangers, all the while Tachyon began to chuckle.
"Hahaha. What an interesting idea. Truly such an interesting thing to explore. If we could change the fundamentals of reality. Who knows what new limits we could reach?" The local mad doctor exclaimed as she turned her focus to her lab equipment. "But I think I would need the help of another umamusume to do this. Normally, I would ask you to help me test some new concoction I created, but this idea is so great that it will satisfy me for the time being. Don't worry about any side effects if this is successful. I have no interest in that happening and accidentally destroying some of the fundamentals of our universe. Now you can leave us be to work on this new theory."
With that, Kitasan was pushed out of the dark room by Tachyon before the door closed behind her as the scientist got to work.
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A couple of weeks had gone by, with more encounters with God, when Kitasan received an update from Tachyon about her request.
When she met up with the scientist. Tachyon revealed two dubious flasks. One filled with a green liquid, the other grey.
What unnerved her was that the liquid seemed to behave like static on a screen. Twitching erratically with the black filament, which occasionally turned to 1s and 0s, it was just not natural for liquid to behave like that.
"Ah. Good that you arrived. As you can see, I have made two potions for you." Tachyon raises the green static liquid. "This one should allow you to become immune to the 'shackle' you describe, allowing you to talk to God without restraint. However, you only have a small frame to ingest it when God arrives, so be ready for that." She explained before passing the green one to Kitasan.
"What about the other one?" Kitasan curiously asked as she grabbed the extended one.
Tachyon paused for a moment, and an uncomfortable expression was plastered on her face as she stared at the other flask.
"As much as I said I wouldn't try to mess with reality. This one that I had made is quite possibly the most complex I have created... this one could quite possibly allow anyone to travel to the realm that God reside in... Though I have not tested this because of the possibility of not returning to our world. A risk that I understand to not test... I just wanted to test how far my research could go, and this was the fruit of that labour." Tachyon spoke in a firm tone, telling Kitasan not to even mess with that one.
"Oh... okay. But still, thank you for even doing this, Tachyon-san." Kitasan thanked her fellow umamusume before running off in a happy mood.
And as if the Goddesses were gracing her. She soon felt the tugging sensation that indicated God was about to make their presence again.
Wasting no time, she downed the content Tachyon had created. Albeit she hesitated at first since she heard the many side effects Tachyon's trainer would show whenever they took one of her drugs. But given the current time frame Kitasan has, hesitation may prevent her from finally talking with God.
The liquid was as viscous as water. Yet the taste was peculiar to say. As if she was tasting everything... and nothing at the same time.
But she did notice the tug that she normally would feel before appearing in the main lobby becoming duller.
If the sudden sensation had dropped, she realised she might not be there as usual when God eventually arrived.
And she was just at the tunnel to the racetrack. Nowhere close to the main lobby, if she estimated she had only 10 seconds to reach her required position.
But she didn't hesitate and ran as fast as she could so as not to cause any tears in reality.
Yet she forgot one critical piece that many players would notice when they log into the game.
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(Real world)
You sat down in exhaustion after another day of work.
Today was apparently the worst ever. Apparently, a sports event was happening tomorrow, and a lot of fans had the same idea to go shopping at the same time. As a result, you were extremely busy serving customers with large shopping lists.
That and the nonstop comments of if you were going to watch the game. Something you had no interest in doing since that sport was not something you fancied watching.
But now you were free from it. Free to play some Umamusume.
So you booted up the game like every other day. Seeing Kitasan Black on the home screen as you start another career.
For some reason, the game took slightly longer to load. Something not entirely concerning to you. Internet speed, computer processing, and file downloads are just a few reasons that could slow the game, so you weren't too concerned.
When the loading finally subsided, the first thing to greet you was Kitasan Black... However, she was wearing her usual Tracen winter uniform and sweating a bit, as if she had run hard just a short time ago.
You took a moment to process the sight. Normally, the umamusume would cheerfully greet you when you load the game. Yet she was currently panting as she caught her breath. You believed the game had done a hidden update to give the umamusume more expressions and behaviour on the home screen.
But her wearing the standard winter uniform was suspicious.
But what happened next caught you off guard.
"Ummm... hello? Can you hear me?" Kitasan finally spoke out shyly as she got her breathing back to normal.
"What..?" You spoke in surprise that the game was now talking to you.
You must've been working too hard, and now you're hallucinating the game talking to you.
Seeing your reaction. Kitasan Black gave a small victory cheer.
"Yes! The potion worked. I can finally speak with you." She continued.
"H... How is that possible?" You still didn't believe what you were seeing. In your entire life, no game was this sentient to actually speak to you after breaking the cycle of the game.
Sure, some games may attempt to break the fourth wall by speaking with you. Or adding files to your computer for the game world. This situation, however, was none of those.
"How are you speaking to me? How are you aware of my existence?" You cautiously question the umamusume on your screen.
Kitasan Black stopped her cheering as you spoke. Her crimson ambered eyes landed on you as she sheepishly scratched the back of her head after her somewhat foolish display.
"Everyone here knows of your existence, God. You created everything, including the three Goddesses. We have all learned about you since school. As for speaking with you... eheh... well... thanks to Tachyons drug. I was able to freely speak with you because whenever you are around, nobody was able to speak besides some quotes we seem to know or wanted to keep secret from you." The festive uma explained.
Your head began to spin at her explanation. Apparently, the umamusume in the game world knows of his existence? How was that possible? Not only that, but Agnes Tachyon was able to modify the coding as well? You were starting to be creeped out by this.
Yet you have one question.
"Why did you want to talk to me?" You asked her why she was doing all of this.
At that question. The uma poked her fingers together.
"Every time I saw you. You looked tired, with bags under your eyes and a tired expression to match. In addition, you would talk about your problems while training me. I wanted to help you, but I couldn't say anything because something prevented us from freely speaking to you when you were around."
Then her cheeks turned a deep shade of red before she continued.
"But also... whenever I first saw you. My chest would grow heavy, and my cheeks would flush, and I didn't know why... until Teio-sempai told me I was in love with you... So I wanted to confess to you. Even if that sounded weird." She confessed.
You only stared at the screen as you listened to your favourite uma confess to you.
You did not know what to say to that.
Embarrassment. Fear. Shock. Happiness.
Many more emotions swirled within you as you sat silent.
On the one hand, you were ecstatic to learn that the umamusume you admired also loved you back with the same feelings you had.
On the other hand, she knows all the problems you were dealing with, which made her want to help you with them. But she also knows some things you didn't want others to know.
Additionally, even though she was somehow sentient. She was still just lines of code in a game. No matter her feelings. The possibility of the two of you being together was impossible.
So, like what any sane, tired person would do, you quit the game and turn off the computer to try and forget everything that just happened in the last couple of minutes.
Sleep could also help.
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(Game World)
Kitasan watched the rift close quickly after she confessed to God.
The sudden behaviour change caught her off guard. Since he would begin a career run right now.
She felt hurt that they didn't respond to her love. But she couldn't blame them for responding that way, since they were in a different realm and were beings higher than her. A lower being like her is trying to form some sort of connection with them.
But they did talk to her, so they didn't react negatively.
She can try to explain things the next time they appear.
... Except he did not come back.
Weeks went by, and God did not return, and everyone in Tracen began to notice the lack of God's presence.
Kitasan was starting to lose hope of trying to smooth everything out with God until she remembered the other flask Tachyon had created when he handed her the green one.
Perhaps that might be the only thing left to see him again.
The main issue was the time to break into Tachyon's laboratory and ingest the potion without getting caught by Tachyon or Cafe.
But she had no other options.
So she waited for a perfect moment when the two hurdles were out of the way to do this.
And that day came when the two were on the racetrack for some personal training.
It was now or never.
Sneaking into the room. Kitasan was greeted by numerous bottles and flasks of different colours to her left. On the right were items of the superstitious type, diagrams on the wall and a lone couch with a coffee machine on the coffee table.
Quickly, she began searching Tachyon's side for the glitched potion.
Despite the potion's unique appearance. She had difficulty finding it.
Her search grew more frantic as she sifted through more and more bottles, even opening the many drawers along the way.
Eventually, she finally found it after 'opening' a locked drawer at the end of the room with a little force.
Conveniently, the door to the room opened behind her. Freezing her in place as she realised she was caught.
"Kitasan Black...? What are you doing here?" The voice of Tachyon greeted her.
With nowhere to run, she stood up and turned around to greet Tachyon as she tried to play dumb.
"Oh... Hi Tachyon-san... I was trying to find some ingredients for Sweepy's new potion... I thought you might have something that could be used for it." She tried to lie, even though it was completely false. She hoped Tachyon would buy her lie.
However, Tachyon's eyes were glued to the flask in her possession. Her face was drained of all colour.
“Kitasan... Why are you in possession of that potion? Didn't I tell you about the risks associated with that one? Not only that, but what consequences may happen to our world if you ascend to God's realm? Concern laced in her words as she tried to prevent Kitasan from drinking the potion.
"God has not been here for weeks. I think he doesn't want to see us anymore, and I can't take it because I can't confess to him in person. I understand the risk, but I need to do this." She responded as she put the flask to her lips to drink it.
"KITASAN! DON'T DO IT!!! You don't know what will happen if you drink it!" Tachyon frantically shouted at her as she lunged towards her in fear, attempting to prevent any liquid from entering her body. Sadly for the scientist, she was just far enough away for the liquid to pass by Kitasan's lips.
As the liquid settled in her stomach. Kitasan immediately felt the entire world standing still, like the time she was scouted by God. She could also feel her body growing colder and colder as the world began to glitch out of reality, like the liquid.
She tried to bring her arms close to her body as it grew even colder before her vision was engulfed by the static.
'Sorry, everyone, if my selfish actions ruined everything...' She mentally apologised before her static vision turned black.
To any onlookers like Tachyon observing Kitasan's body. They could only describe her body glitching out before it disappeared from their reality into the next realm above.
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The first thing Kitasan registered was the soft feeling underneath her as she regained consciousness.
Opening her eyes. She expected to be either in Tachyon's room or in the infirmary, with the liquid being pumped out of her.
Yet what greeted her was a room very similar to the one where God resides.
Upon realising, she shot up from where she was and discovered she was lying on the bed he would most likely use to sleep.
She blushed as she realised she was accidentally unconscious in a boys' room. Much less the creator of their world's room. Getting to feel, smell and hear everything in this new realm told her that the potion was a complete success.
Getting off the bed. She began exploring the world in hopes of finding God to ask why he was no longer visiting them.
Was he angry at her? Disgusted? Fearful? Hopefully not the latter.
She would never know until she confronts him.
So she navigated the house she believed she was in. Yet she could not find any traces of him, except multiple piles of dirty dishes in the kitchen sink.
'Was his life that bad? He didn't have enough energy to try and look after himself?' She thought worriedly as she stared at the stack.
That would not do. She knew she wasn't an expert at cleaning or cooking like Nature-sempai... but this was probably the most important step in helping God ensure he was eating properly.
Checking the fridge, she managed to find some staple foods. Hamburger meat. Some vegetables, but most importantly, two carrots.
At least the higher realm had the same ingredients for a carrot hamburger steak.
"Okay... Let's see how well I can cook this. Once I help wash the present dishes first." Kitasan psyched herself before diving into the two problems in front of her.
And perhaps she can have a conversation with God over the food.
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(Meanwhile)
The sun was just barely kissing the horizon again as you arrived back home.
Ever since Kitasan talked to you. You had been put off from playing Umamusume. It was still on your computer because you still loved it. But you couldn't shake the unease of digital beings being aware of your existence. And develop feelings for you even though they were just 1s and 0s.
It was just not natural.
As a result of you not playing the one thing that brought you happiness, things became even more unbearable to deal with, like some form of punishment.
If only your awkward self had a partner to share the burden of modern life. Then perhaps things at home might not be such a chore.
As you arrived at your door, you began to smell something delicious nearby as your stomach growled at the delicacy a neighbour was probably enjoying. While you didn't have the luxury of cooking anything but instant noodles for the time you had left after work.
"Mannnn. I wish I could eat whatever that is." You enviously grumbled to yourself as you opened the door.
The smell grew tenfold before you realised it was coming from inside your apartment alongside the sound of someone humming.
Panic filled you as you realised someone was actually inside your home. And despite having your phone on you, you could've phoned the police. You instead decided to confront whoever was inside, be dammed.
Entering the apartment, you approached the main room to see who was here.
What you saw defied every logic.
There in the kitchen, happily cooking something was Kitasan Black. Not just a random person dressed up as her, but the actual Kitasan Black. You knew that because you saw her tail flick momentarily and her ears twisted towards you as you entered the room, something fake props could never achieve... for now.
She turned around, and both of you made eye contact.
You blinked one. Then twice. Then three times. Yet she remained standing at the centre of the kitchen with the same warm smile you've seen numerous times through a screen.
Moments later. Kitasan opened her mouth to speak.
"Is that you... God?" She asked.
That was the final straw before your tired, confused brain shut off from shock.
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When you awoke. The first thing you heard was the soft, comforting humming of someone playing Umapyio Legend. When you opened your eyes. What you saw was Kitasan staring down at you with that warm smile as she stopped humming upon noticing you were awake.
"Ah, you're awake. You gave me such a shock when you fell unconscious earlier. That was not what I was hoping for when we met again." She greeted you for the second time.
Despite just waking up from unconsciousness. You scrambled back up from where you were to discover you were getting a lap pillow from her during your unconsciousness.
"How... how are you here. That should not be possible." You blurted out as you tried to understand what was going on right now, as your cheeks flustered in embarrassment, as you got the classic anime trope many people would die for to happen to them.
But more importantly. How is a video game character here in the real world?
"Ah, that..." Kitasan laughed awkwardly. "That was from another one of Tachyon's potions she had conjured alongside the one that had allowed me to speak to you days ago."
Ah... Tachyon... you should've expected that in the first place. Almost anything that happened in the umamusime world could be traced back to her.
"Why are you here? What about everyone else? Your world? Does it still exist? What is that smell I smelt earlier? What about-" You began rapid-firing questions at the uma in front of you as you tried to process everything, before Kitasan carefully placed a finger on your mouth to stop the avalanche of questions.
"To answer your questions. I am here to ask you why you no longer visit us. It was concerning after weeks without you there. As for your second question, I don't know what happened to everyone else or to the world. Thirdly. That smell is a carrot hamburger steak I had managed to cook up for the two of us... and I wanted to continue our discussion." She explained as calmly as possible to prevent your tired self from panicking again.
Hearing those answers calmed you down a bit before your stomach growled even louder since you still hadn't eaten anything since your lunch break.
Looking over at the dining table, you spotted the two carrot hamburger steaks you believed she had cooked, still hot, as indicated by the steam rising above them.
You hesitantly agreed to eat as your stomach protested even louder. Commanding you to eat something. Anything to satisfy it.
So you found yourself sitting at the table. Kitasan, sitting on the opposite side, was already digging into her meal without a second wasted.
So you joined her and placed a big chunk of meat and carrot into your mouth.
And God, the meal was divine.
Okay, you might've been biased since this would've been the first proper meal you ate besides instant noodles.
It was so good, nothing was left on the plate. Similar to Kitasan's.
Now that you have eaten something. You were feeling more aware of everything and could now properly have a conversation.
"Okay. Now that is over. You wanted to go back to the first conversation we had, which involved you confessing to me... right?" You asked the uma sitting in front of you.
You still couldn't believe that she loved you back then. But because she was actually here in the real world. The notation was not as surprising as it was back then. Since she was here in the flesh.
"Y-Yeah... Just as I said... when I first saw you... I fell in love with you... no matter who I looked at after you. They didn't have that same spark as you did. And I desperately wanted to tell you in our conversation... After that... I feared you hated me and had doomed my world because I broke the laws. Yet nothing happened, and you didn't return. Which made me take Tachyon's other drug to try and speak to you again. Not only to smooth things out, but to try and finally know your response to my question." She confessed.
Hearing everything from her made you feel terrible, as she wanted to tell you how she felt. Yet you immediately ran away from the only person who actually loved you, which made you feel horrible.
Yet she did all of this to try to make amends and possibly see if things would advance between you two. All the while, you did nothing but try to push her away.
You began to tear up after thinking about how scummy you were.
"I...I had no idea you.... You felt like that for so long. You took... the steps to confess... and I just ran away... even though... I said I loved you without knowing your feelings... for me." You sobbed in shame. Kitasan was truly too kind and helpful to deserve your pathetic being.
You soon felt two hands wrap around you as she comforted you.
You two stayed there for some time until you finished sobbing and regained your composure, allowing Kitasan to let go, knowing you were in a better state of mind.
"Are you feeling better now, God?" Kitasan asked you.
You only nodded at her question.
"Yes. I am now, thanks to you. I was a coward for leaving you earlier. I was scared and confused about the status of our relationship, but after hearing about the risks you took for this. I won't let you come here empty-handed and to no longer deny my feelings for you, too, Kitasan. I really do love you as well... And this might be a bit awkward, but... would you like to be my girlfriend?" You confessed to her after you finally got yourself together.
Hearing your proposal. Kitasan's ears perked all the way up as her tail began wagging almost like a dog in happiness, as she jumped onto you to snuggle. Her wagging tail quickly wraps itself around one of your legs.
"Yes. I would love that God." She responded happily.
"That is great. But before anything else, I have one thing to ask you."
"And that is?" She asked with curiosity.
"Call me Ren."
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News of Kitasan's existence spread like wildfire across the globe when they realised an actual umamusme existed in the real world. Many umamusume fans flocked to Kitasan Black. Taking photos. Asking her to sign things. Even trying to propose to her, which was rejected, much to their dismay.
In addition, the world eventually agreed to give her citizenship after some debate. Still, it was nothing too serious for the two of them.
It was also funny the first time Kitasan Black encountered an actual horse that inspired her. She initially freaked out at the so-called elderitched being before you explained to her what a horse was.
It was amusing when she met her counterpart, even though he was a horse. Kitasan Black, the horse, seemed to know the person in front of him was another version of himself, somehow, and the two ran around the paddock to see who was faster.
Both you and Kitasan also discovered what happened to the umamusume world after she had taken the grey potion.
It was working completely fine as normal. Another Kitasan Black had taken the actual Kitasan place in the world. Yet her behaviour was slightly different from what the two could tell from other umamusume who took the green potion. She had no attachment to Ren. Yet she still acknowledged him as God of their world. So seeing the world function as normally as possible was a huge relief for Kitasan after her reckless decision.
What was not a huge relief was when more umamusume started appearing in the real world after they realised Kitasan was perfectly fine in the upper realm. Meaning things got more troublesome as more crossed over and interacted with society.
Including more Kitasan Blacks...
Yeah... family lineages might become something just like the racehorse industry if things kept going as they were. Not that people seemed to care.
But besides all of that. You and Kitasan eventually married and lived a happy life with an ever-growing family of both human males and umamusume children.
Thanks to her presence. She also got a job to help support you and the family. The two of you took turns working one day. And looking after the family the other day. With Sunday as the day the two of you can spend together.
Eventually, the real world was populated not only by humans but also by umamusume... Eventually.
But that's a story for another time.
End.