"Come on, Trainer Don't be mad anymore"
"I'm not mad."
"But your brows are knitted so tight~"
"I'm not mad."
"And you're gripping your hand really hard~"
"I'm not mad."
"Oh—Yuu texted."
"What did he say?!"
Nase Fumino whipped her head around—only to find Super Creek looking at her with a teasing grin. Realizing she'd been baited, Fumino's face flushed bright red.
But what could she do? The other girl was her contracted Umamusume. Fumino could only rub her forehead and sigh. "Creek… you're not usually this mean."
Creek covered her lips and chuckled softly. "Hehehe~ It's just that, right now, Trainer looks really cute~"
"Hmph!"
Normally, once a contract was signed, an Umamusume would spend her afternoons learning race-related theory with her trainer. But today their schedule was training, so the two of them headed straight for the track.
Quite a few Umamusume were already there warming up—most of them corralled by instructors in big groups, like a standard PE class.
A pairing like Creek and Fumino—one Umamusume with a dedicated trainer—was rare enough. And Fumino was famous among trainers, famous enough that she drew more than a few envious looks.
"Come to think of it," Creek said with a sigh, "once Yuu signs his contract, the attention he gets probably won't be any less than ours~"
"That's true," Fumino agreed.
To everyone else, Wu You was a "new trainer." But between his looks—appealing to men and women alike—and that "mint for Umamusume" effect he had, he was practically destined to rack up popularity.
And Chiemi Representative was a celebrity within the academy, with top-tier talent. Plenty of trainers had been smashing their heads against the wall trying to earn even a scrap of her interest.
If those two became a duo… the scene would be unbelievable.
Yet neither Fumino nor Creek felt the slightest jealousy—only pure blessing, and the competitive spark unique to partners who respected each other.
After all, who didn't want their family to live well?
"Alright, Creek." Fumino crossed her arms. "You know what Chiemi can do, and you know what my brother can do. Those two will definitely become our biggest rivals. So we'd better train hard."
"Okay I'll go change, then"
"Mm. I'll wait here."
Creek took her things and headed toward the changing rooms.
Halfway there, she spotted a familiar figure sitting on a bench by the path.
"Oh? Oguri~ Why are you sitting here?"
Oguri Cap looked gloomy, her head lowered the way she did when she hadn't eaten enough at lunch.
At Creek's voice, Oguri finally lifted her head and replied listlessly, "Oh… Creek. Hi."
They were classmates. Oguri and Tamamo Cross were childhood friends, and the three of them had long been close.
And because Creek was mature and steady, she often played the "mom" of the trio.
Seeing Oguri like this, Creek couldn't just walk away. She sent Fumino a quick message, then sat beside her.
"What happened? You look like you've got no energy."
Oguri put on her signature blank, very-pinchable expression and answered, "I just went to see Symboli Rudolf about letting me enter the qualifiers the day after tomorrow. She refused. And she said something really… nonsensical…"
Creek tilted her head. "What do you mean, 'nonsensical'?"
Oguri, as if reenacting Rudolf's posture, said in a flat imitation: "Do not be insolent before Central."
Compared to Symboli Rudolf's emperor-like pressure, Oguri's deadpan delivery was so out of place it looped around into being strangely adorable.
Creek's maternal instincts surged. She couldn't help ruffling Oguri's hair.
"But wait," Creek said, thinking. "The qualifiers the day after tomorrow—aren't those for dirt track? Why are you insisting on that day… Ah! Don't tell me!"
Creek immediately remembered what Oguri had told her before: the person she'd been waiting for had finally returned.
Oguri nodded rapidly. "Mm-hm! I wanted to run the qualifiers the day after tomorrow and go sign right after… but Rudolf said the soonest I could enter is the long-distance qualifiers ten days from now…"
"Well… it can't be helped," Creek soothed. "The academy has rules. And getting it moved up by over ten days is still a pretty good outcome, right?"
"But I can't wait…"
Before she'd left, Wu You had already told her he intended to sign with Chiemi Representative next.
Oguri didn't actually care who signed first. As long as she ended up with Yuu, that was enough.
But… she'd waited so long. She'd finally found him again. And now she still had to wait even longer.
To Oguri, it felt like being starving all morning with a feast set right in front of her—only for someone to say she had to wait another whole day before she could touch it.
That was unbearable.
Creek knew she couldn't truly share that feeling, so she tried to distract Oguri with something else.
A bright idea pinged in her mind.
"Oh, right! Oguri—my little brother is back too!"
"Really?" Oguri perked up a little, then smiled. "Then congratulations, Creek."
"He's very, very, very cute" Creek said happily. "I really, really like him"
"Mm-hm. You've said that a lot. I remember," Oguri replied earnestly.
"How about this?" Creek suggested. "One day, we all go out to eat together. I'll bring Tama. You bring the trainer you've been waiting for. Everyone can meet properly~"
At the words "go out to eat," Oguri's eyes lit up. She nodded rapidly. "Okay! Okay!"
"Then it's a promise. I'm going to change and train now~"
"Good luck, Creek~"
"Mm~"
They parted ways.
Creek walked toward the changing rooms with a smile, her usually graceful steps turning into an excited little bounce.
Oguri shook her head, tossed her earlier gloom aside, and rubbed her stomach with a pleased grin.
Oguri and Creek would definitely like Yuu.
And Yuu would definitely like Oguri and Creek.
…
Chairwoman's Office.
"Beautiful! A perfect opening move!"
The moment Hayakawa Tazuna stepped into the office, she heard Akikawa Yayoi laughing. She didn't need to guess what it was about.
"Chairwoman, is this about Trainer Wu You?" Tazuna asked.
"Correct! You're so sharp, Tazuna. Here—take a look at this."
Yayoi handed her a document.
At a glance, Tazuna knew it was a trainer–Umamusume contract application. She couldn't help admiring how fast Wu You moved.
But when she saw the name on the Umamusume line—Chiemi Representative—her mouth fell open.
"He actually managed to sign with Chiemi? As expected of Trainer Wu You…"
"Mhm! Exactly! Oh, and—"
Suddenly, Yayoi remembered something, and her expression turned troubled.
"Tazuna… I'm asking you… please. Don't send this contract to the Student Council yet."
It was an obvious violation of procedure. Tazuna froze for a beat—then understood immediately. She nodded.
"Understood, Chairwoman."
Sooner or later, the Emperor would learn that Wu You had returned.
But if they could delay it even a little… they would.
Because no one could say what she would do—once she discovered that Wu You had signed with someone else.
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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