The race earlier had clearly been fierce—staff members had already rushed onto the track to check conditions.
Hearing Yasui Makoto's words and seeing the commotion on the track, the Uma Musume exchanged hesitant glances, until Tokai Teio—who'd stayed quiet before—finally spoke up.
"Trainer Yasui, you go ahead. We'll follow later."
"Maybe I'm overthinking it…but if we all rush to Kita-chan right now, she might feel overwhelmed."
Yasui Makoto nodded quietly, said nothing else, and turned towards the corridor behind him.
Watching his departing figure, Mejiro McQueen tilted her head slightly towards Tokai Teio, whispering:
"Teio, exactly what kind of person is he…?"
Tokai Teio fell silent for a moment.
"I can't figure out what's really going through his head."
"It's not unheard-of for someone to train a G1-level Uma Musume right after debut, but the way he handled this near-miss loss… It's like he's run as many races as we have."
"Honestly, I've never encountered a trainer like him."
"I haven't either," Mejiro McQueen recalled briefly. "But...it shouldn't be a bad thing for Kita-chan."
"Definitely not," Tokai Teio perked up. "Rather, I'm completely sure now—he really suits Kita-chan perfectly."
"McQueen, maybe it's time we discussed international races with him and Kita-chan, what do you think?"
...
Before Yasui even reached the medical room, he saw Kitasan Black already walking out.
Noticing Yasui as well, Kitasan instinctively smiled and took a step toward him—but quickly, her small face stiffened, gaze flickering away, her steps slowing to a halt.
Seeing the girl's reaction, Yasui walked closer, softly asking:
"How was it? Did the checkup show anything wrong?"
At the instant the familiar voice sounded above her, Kitasan's ears twitched slightly.
After a long silence, she lowered her head, nodding quietly, fingers nervously entwined in front of her.
Pretending not to notice those small movements, Yasui casually looked down the hallway.
"If there's no issue, rest up a bit. You still have the Winner's Concert later… Want me to go with you?"
She remained silent again for a long while, then nodded faintly.
Heading towards the resting room, Yasui deliberately slowed his pace, only resuming his usual speed when he heard footsteps following from behind.
Everyone moving toward the resting room now had just finished racing. After exchanging brief greetings with a few passing Uma Musume, the hallway soon emptied out.
Around a corner—
"Trainer…"
"Hm? What's—"
"W-wait… You…don't turn around yet…"
About to turn back, Yasui halted in place, obeying her words and facing forward.
Unable to see her expression, he could only hear her voice—much lower and calmer than usual.
"I… I don't really know what to say."
"I thought about what Trainer might say to me too…"
"But…thinking carefully, maybe staying quiet like this is more your style, Trainer…"
…So what exactly does she mean?
Just as this confusion flashed through his mind, Yasui suddenly felt something press gently against his back.
Immediately after, a tense yet warm body leaned fully against him, arms slipping beneath his own, gently embracing him.
Like air slowly escaping a balloon or caramel gradually melting, that stiff body quickly softened, becoming pliant and warm.
At the same moment, warm breath lingered softly against the base of his neck.
As if contagious, the warmth and softness against his back made Yasui's entire body stiffen involuntarily.
…So, what does this mean…?
Before he could sort out his thoughts, a voice—soft and utterly unlike her usual cheerful tone—came again from behind.
"I don't know how to put it…"
Repeating the same words, the voice quietly continued:
"Words of comfort, encouragement, scolding me or yelling at me…"
"I could handle that, and I even expected it…"
"But I guess that's Trainer for you—never saying things like that…"
"No, I mean, comfort and encouragement… You have said things like that, but only during training…"
"But losing a race like this…this must be Trainer's first time experiencing it too, right…?"
Instinctively, Yasui began to move slightly.
He wanted to say he'd experienced defeat before, but before he could open his mouth, the arms wrapped beneath his own stubbornly tightened.
"I—I told you already…Trainer, don't turn around yet…"
The pressure around his sides grew even stronger. The warmth at his back intensified, the softness enveloped him further, like being immersed in hot spring water.
The voice fell silent again, and when it returned, it had become hesitant, almost whispering:
"I still don't know what to say, or how to say it…"
Repeating those words for the third time, as if afraid he might suddenly vanish, her arms tightened even more—making it momentarily hard to breathe.
"But…Trainer, we still have more races after this, right?"
"I won't let anyone take Trainer away… So…you'll still coach me after this, won't you?"
"I've always listened to Trainer, always tried my hardest, never forgotten any promises made to Trainer…"
"So, from now on, Trainer…we'll still be together, right?"
"…Yeah, exactly."
Feeling as if the words behind him had finally become understandable, Yasui nodded immediately, without hesitation.
"Comfort… Honestly, I don't know how to give it."
"Saying you did your best, or that the result was already great… those words are meaningless to me."
"It's not like I've never lost a race—of course, I mean outside of the Twinkle Series."
"When I lose, there's only one thought in my mind."
"Win it back next time."
"Competition really is just that simple: winning, or winning it back."
"So you don't need to worry. You promised to make me a G1-level trainer—you already accomplished that."
"You don't need to feel sorry or worry about anything. If anyone has to apologize, it should actually be me, your Trainer—"
Suddenly, the arms wrapped tightly around his chest squeezed abruptly harder, nearly knocking the wind out of Yasui and forcing him to swallow the rest of his words.
"The person who should apologize… Isn't that also the same kind of meaningless thing Trainer just talked about?"
She muttered irritably behind him. Then, in the next instant, the softness and warmth abruptly disappeared, replaced by a familiar figure quickly stepping out before his eyes.
"I ended up saying a lot of weird stuff… Anyway, please continue taking care of me, Trainer!"
Though the tips of her eyelashes still sparkled faintly with lingering tears, her crimson eyes now shone sharply like blades.
The smile on her lips was bright and energetic as always, yet somehow its curve seemed slightly gentler than usual.
Looking at that smile—hovering somewhere between cheerful and composed—Yasui unconsciously swallowed, glancing away briefly.
A moment later, meeting those bright crimson eyes again, he slowly raised a hand, gently brushing away the strands of damp hair clinging to her forehead.
"Let's keep working hard together, Kita-chan."
---
T/N: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW SO CUTEEE
...
I DONT THINK ANY OF YOU READS THE THOUGHTS SECTION SO IM GONNA JUST TRY POSTING IT HERE
...
"GrrrRAAAAH… gkhhh—rrnnnh."
"Gyaaaooorrrh… translator says… patreon.com/wisetl… optional support… early access bonus… rrrhhnnn."
"KHHH—shaaah… discord.gg/wisetl… come join… hrrrhh."
"Grrrk—RAAH… Every 100 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter… 100ps one… 200ps two… 300ps three… gyaaahhh."
"Rrrnnnhhh… grrraaah… thank you for reading… hhhhaaahhh."
say thank you to Girantina for that thoughtful message