Kamisato Daisuke ended up becoming the Trainer for the Umamusume who had always been his sworn enemy.
Maybe fate was playing a trick, or maybe it was something else—but either way, he drew her lot. The next day, he stormed into the Chairwoman's office with a dark expression, demanding a change of Tantou.
As luck would have it—just a second after he entered, the door flew open again, and his Tantou barged in with exactly the same demand.
The outcome was predictable…
Of course, the request was denied.
A brand-new policy had just come into effect. If they made an exception for these two, by tomorrow there'd be an endless line of Trainers and Umamusume demanding to return their lots. Naturally, they refused.
Still, seeing their mutual hostility, the Chairwoman was concerned something might happen.
She promised them that if after one year their relationship hadn't improved, she would reconsider the matter.
Time flew by and a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Logically, two people who got along this badly—forced together or not—should have made a terrible pair.
But the reality was the opposite. Their coordination and mutual understanding far surpassed every other Trainer–Umamusume duo in their intake.
The reason was simple.
They'd spent years at each other's throats. To undermine one another, each had obsessively studied the other.
To exploit even the smallest vulnerability—any chance to trouble the other—their investigations had become extremely thorough.
Height and weight. Diet and sleep patterns. Likes and dislikes. Every strength, every weakness…
You could say, after all those years, they knew each other better than they knew themselves.
And as for training problems caused by their mutual hatred…
There were none.
For the Umamusume, it went without saying. She could despise Kamisato Daisuke all she wanted—training was training. She knew how to separate the two.
For Kamisato Daisuke, even though deep down he hated working with her, even though every training session was torture…
He never once caused trouble for her during training, and he never tried to sabotage her.
Because he truly needed this job.
As previously mentioned, Kamisato Daisuke's family was desperately poor—enough to rival even the Tamamo family.
Being a Trainer wasn't just prestigious—most importantly, it paid well.
Initially, he'd chosen this path purely out of spite toward her.
But once he entered Tracen Academy, watching his mother grow increasingly haggard from exhaustion, improving their home situation gradually became his priority.
He couldn't afford to lose this job. If anything, he had to perform better than anyone—even if that meant doing something he despised.
And so a year passed quickly.
Because they worked exceptionally well together, their results were impressive. They won several OP-level races and even claimed victory in a graded stakes race.
Yet, Kamisato Daisuke still had no intention of renewing his contract with her.
Their results were outstanding, their teamwork widely acknowledged, and in public they both acted… acceptably.
But only Kamisato Daisuke knew the emotional toll each training session exacted on him.
Every time he stood on the podium with her, seeing how happy she looked lifting the trophy, he knew exactly how tightly his fist clenched behind his back.
Yet, terminating the contract didn't go as planned.
The night before the termination, Kamisato Daisuke's mother fell ill.
Years of overwork finally took their toll—not particularly severe, but requiring considerable time and money for recovery.
In the hospital, Kamisato Daisuke sat beside his mother, silently holding her hand through the night. Early the next morning, he found the Umamusume. Suppressing his emotions and keeping his voice low, he asked her quietly if they might reconsider ending their contract.
She was about to enter her second-year schedule. That meant more races, more prize money—and she was strong enough to win.
If he terminated and searched for another partner, not only would he waste another full year, but even if he was lucky enough to get a debut-year Umamusume nobody wanted, her talent likely wouldn't compare.
Yet, out of some misplaced pride—or perhaps other reasons—Kamisato Daisuke didn't tell her the truth. He didn't even press the request very hard.
Naturally, the Umamusume refused.
She wasn't blind. Outsiders might not have seen his true attitude toward her, but she had.
She would be fine if things continued—his consistent seriousness during their training had already softened her view of him—but she worried he might eventually break down mentally.
Everything unfolded logically from there.
They visited the Chairwoman's office and signed the termination papers.
The Chairwoman regretted their choice, but she respected their decision.
Once the documents were signed, Kamisato Daisuke silently took his copy and left the office.
After he'd gone, the Umamusume finally realized something was off about him. As she muttered about his strange mood…
The Chairwoman sighed. Watching Kamisato Daisuke's departing figure, she began speaking—almost as if to herself—about things the Umamusume had never heard before, things about Kamisato Daisuke.
Nothing extraordinary. Just an old, tired story: a scumbag father and a child forced to become tough.
After his father left, the village atmosphere turned toxic, bullying a widow and her son—someone had to stand up for them.
Even as a child, he might not have been able to handle adults, but he could at least deal with their children at school.
He made them hesitate—to fear retaliation—and was careful enough never to escalate conflicts into major incidents.
Not everyone can emerge clean from the mud. Roots that grow in swamps don't have room for purity.
That was why Tracen had recruited him, despite knowing his past—not only because of his talent but because they wanted to offer him a chance at change.
But now, just as the seeds of that change had begun to sprout… something like this had happened…
"What happened?" she asked.
"Hm? He didn't tell you? His mother's sick. He's still worried about medical bills. I even considered organizing a donation, but knowing him, 'donations' might only wound his pride further… Where are you going?"
BANG!
With a thunderous crash, the door to Kamisato Daisuke's dorm was kicked into a twisted sheet of metal.
Through the broken doorway, a beam of light fell onto his face as he sat silently on the sofa.
Instinctively, he looked up—and saw her approaching him out of the light.
That was the moment the change began.
After that, the rest unfolded naturally.
Once she left, the Chairwoman immediately crumpled the termination form—which hadn't yet been filed—into a ball, tossing it into the trash with a perfect arc.
From that moment on, the two of them continued winning together, eventually even claiming one jewel of the Classic Triple Crown.
Support. Companionship. Trust.
Their feelings gradually changed. The distance between them steadily narrowed.
On the surface, their relationship still appeared incompatible, but deep down, they both knew something had fundamentally shifted.
After the final race of her three-year career, Kamisato Daisuke was still trying to figure out how to confess to her.
But at their private celebration afterward, she misunderstood his intentions, bluntly exposed his feelings, and confessed first, beating him to it.
From then on, everything progressed smoothly.
Dating, marriage, and moving in together.
She retired and became a full-time housewife Kamisato Daisuke—because he didn't want any Umamusume but her—left Tracen and joined the URA.
His mother recovered, their home situation steadily improved, and his career at the URA went smoothly. Because of his dedication, he continued to rise through the ranks. With the person he loved by his side, they even began nurturing hopes for the future.
The light that pierced his darkness had become the only sun in his heart.
It was the happiest period of Kamisato Daisuke's life.
And then came that sudden night.
On that day, Kamisato Daisuke went to work at the URA as usual.
On his way home, remembering it was their relationship anniversary, he took a detour—visiting the shop where they'd first confessed to buy some of her favorite treats.
But just as he stepped out after making his purchase, he saw a crowd gathered by the roadside, shouting about something.
Kamisato Daisuke wasn't the type to chase commotions; he had never gotten involved in such things.
Yet, for some reason today, the instant he saw those people, an overwhelming unease surged inside him—and pushed by that unease, he found himself walking toward them.
And there he saw her, lying in a pool of blood.
What happened afterward—perhaps because it involved classified details, or because Kamisato Daisuke simply refused to remember—he never told Kitahara clearly.
He only mentioned, in fragments, that her death was connected to "Umamusume Hunting."
From others, Kitahara learned she hadn't been specifically targeted—instead, she'd died because she chose to save someone else.
She succeeded. Not only did she save double-digit lives, she also prevented a horrific incident from escalating further.
Because of potential repercussions, the incident wasn't made public. Even Symboli Speed didn't know much about it.
But from the way others around Kamisato Daisuke spoke, Kitahara could sense their respect and regret when they mentioned Kamisato Daisuke's late wife.
Afterward, because she had been his wife—and because she was already gone—the URA credited her merits to him. Beyond official recognition, they provided substantial help.
Promotions. Financial support. Extended special leave to recuperate. They even hired a professional psychologist to counsel him one-on-one.
But Kamisato Daisuke only wanted her back—he would've traded his own life if it meant she could return.
After that, no one knew exactly what happened.
All they knew was that one week after the funeral, Kamisato Daisuke returned to work. Whether in his dealings with people or handling of tasks, he appeared exactly the same as before.
Only his completely white hair—kept that way ever since—silently spoke otherwise.
After learning all this, Symboli Speed felt a pang of sadness—and along with that sadness, her suspicions deepened.
Yes, from the day Kamisato Daisuke returned to work until now, his behavior had remained perfectly normal—so normal it could even be called exceptional.
But sometimes, being excessively normal was the greatest abnormality.
"After this, I'll see if I can dig deeper into what happened back then."
Symboli Speed spoke, tapping her index finger thoughtfully.
Truthfully, if he had a choice, Kitahara didn't want to pry into his friend's past—especially something his friend clearly wanted to keep buried.
But given the current circumstances—particularly the possibility that Kamisato Daisuke might have masterminded the recent incident—he had no choice.
"Then please keep it quiet. Try not to let him notice. It'll be better for everyone involved..."
"You don't need to remind me."
Symboli Speed shot Kitahara a glance. A prolonged silence filled the room.
After a long pause, Kitahara spoke up slowly.
"Um… senior, is there anything else?"
"There is."
Symboli Speed was blunt.
"But I'd rather not discuss it now—do you have something as well?"
"Yes. It's just a minor thing…"
Kitahara hesitated. The timing wasn't great, but considering he didn't know when they'd meet again, he braced himself and spoke.
"Um, senior, recently I made an agreement with Sirius Symboli—yes, that Sirius Symboli from the Symboli family…"
Some time later, Kitahara explained how he'd agreed to help Sirius Symboli with her problem, saying that if something unexpected occurred...
Like being dragged into the Symboli family's basement, or being dragged into the Symboli family's basement, or, say, being dragged into the Symboli family's basement—
Then he'd appreciate a bit of help from her…
Although it likely wouldn't come to that, Kitahara felt it was best to prepare.
But he noticed after finishing that the Umamusume's expression turned peculiar—as though she was… holding something back.
"Um, senior, if that's inconvenient, then I—"
"No problem. Of course."
Symboli Speed clenched her fist, struggling to maintain a neutral expression.
"Perfect timing. Actually, what I wanted to talk about is related to that as well."
"The blind date i I arranged for you—how's your preparation coming along?"
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T/N: ah yes ask the Umamusume who's def not a Symboli