Hachiman's POV
"Sorry to keep you waiting! Two draft beers, fresh from the tap!"
"Thank you very much," Tazuna-san said, her smile as perfect as ever.
"...Thanks," I muttered.
"Enjoy your evening!" the waitress chirped before scurrying off to the next table.
Tazuna-san picked up her glass, looking at the golden liquid. "It feels a bit surreal, doesn't it? Sitting here having a drink with Trainer Hikigaya."
"You're telling me," I replied, taking a cautious sip. "This is a first for me."
"Oh? Truly? You haven't gone out with your fellow trainers?"
"Not once. Maybe they just don't want me around, or maybe I'm just not the 'happy hour' type. To be fair, I've been buried in the Classic season, so I probably looked too busy to talk to anyway."
"You shouldn't sell yourself short," she said, her tone gentle but firm. "You've earned a remarkably high reputation among both the students and the staff."
"...If you say so."
"It's the truth. Why do you think so many trainers were in favor of the proposal to let you form a team? The neutral votes were a minority, and the opposition was practically negligible."
"..."
I had a pretty good idea of who the "opposition" was. Not that it mattered. Their opinions had zero impact on my life, so I wasn't going to waste energy on them.
"I'll tell you right now, Tazuna-san," I said, setting my glass down. "I have no intention of forming a team."
"And... may I ask why?"
"Isn't it obvious? There are trainers here with years more experience than I have. Why me? I understand you need results to justify a team lead, but I'm only in my second year. I'm still figuring out which way is up. If a rookie like me is handed a team, it would be weird if people didn't complain."
"...I suppose that is a valid concern," she admitted.
"But that's not the main issue. The timing is a disaster."
"A disaster? In what sense?"
"Right now, I'm known as 'Rice Shower's Trainer.' I'm getting a fair amount of attention from the public, and most of it isn't friendly. To the racing fans, I'm the man who killed the Triple Crown. If I were suddenly 'promoted' to a team lead, the optics would be terrible. It would look like the Academy is rewarding me for being the villain. More importantly... I want to focus on Rice. You saw what happened after she beat Bourbon. She's fragile right now. Her mental state is volatile, and I can't afford to split my attention between her and a roster of other girls. I don't have that kind of bandwidth."
"...I understand your feelings," Tazuna-san sighed. "I saw the aftermath myself. It was... difficult to watch."
That's why I'm prepared to shoot down any official "team" offer that comes my way. I want to concentrate on Rice. It might sound arrogant, but I have no desire to be a "team trainer" if it means compromising her progress.
"However," Tazuna-san continued, leaning forward, "you are aware that every Training Center is facing a severe shortage of qualified trainers. Girls are enrolling with dreams of the turf, but without a trainer, they can't even step onto a racetrack. We need the talented trainers—the ones with the 'magic touch'—to take on more students. We need teams."
"...That sounds like you're saying the other trainers aren't up to the task."
"Compared to you? I will say it plainly: yes. We have many excellent trainers at Central, but I believe even a dozen of them working together couldn't achieve what you have with Rice."
Whoa. She's really laying it on thick. I glanced at the table. Wait, how many glasses has she had?! I looked toward the waitress, trying to count the empty mugs. Is she on her fourth already?
"So, Trainer Hikigaya... won't you reconsider? Won't you take that leap?"
"If you want a team trainer that badly, find someone with ambition," I countered. "Trainer shortage isn't the real reason you're pushing this on me, is it? There's something deeper at play here."
"Not at all. I simply believe you would succeed, and more importantly, I believe you're the type of person who makes Umamusume smile."
"I wish people would stop burdening me with their expectations," I muttered.
Man... I just want this to be over. I came here for a drink, and I'm getting a high-pressure corporate recruitment pitch.
"...Speaking of which," Tazuna-san said, her voice softening, "how is Rice Shower-san doing?"
"She's starting to settle down, but the real test is still ahead. My goal for her is the Tenno Sho... which means I might be putting her right back into the line of fire."
"The Tenno Sho (Spring)..." Tazuna-san whispered. "You mean stopping Mejiro McQueen's three-peat?"
"Yeah. I'll discuss it with Rice, of course. I'm not going to force her to run if she doesn't want to. I'm not that kind of monster."
"...Life is never simple, is it?"
"No. It really isn't. If I believed in a God, I'd say He's being a bit too hard on that girl."
But before I can even think about the Tenno Sho, I have to go meet her parents. Honestly, I'm more nervous about that than the race. I have to clear the hurdles right in front of me before I can look down the track.
I looked over at Tazuna-san.
"Don't you think you're going a bit fast?" I asked. "You're throwing those back like a pro... if this were a race, you'd have burned out your stamina by the first turn."
"I can only truly relax during nights like this," she said, her eyes surprisingly clear for someone who had drank so much. "Are you drinking, Trainer?"
"I am... at my own pace."
We spent the rest of the night talking. Some of it was serious, some of it was shop talk, but mostly it was just two people venting over cold beer.
One thing was for sure: Tazuna-san is a bottomless pit. A total legendary "Uwabami." Trying to keep up with her pace is a suicide mission. I paced myself and managed to get home without a hangover, but Tazuna-san? She drank enough to put a sailor under the table and still looked perfectly composed the next morning.
Honestly, I'm starting to think she isn't entirely human.
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