Yuu wore a thoroughly exasperated expression as he wiped cola off his face.
How was it that Mr. C.B. seemed to have a personal feud with his wardrobe? This was already the second outfit that needed washing.
First the coat. At this rate, next would be the shirt… then the pants… and after that, he didn't even dare imagine what came next.
Mr. C.B. was equally embarrassed.
Normally, no matter how free-spirited she was, she wouldn't be this reckless. But the shock of seeing Oguri Cap and Yuu together had short-circuited her brain. She'd forgotten that the can had been jostling in her pocket for ages, building pressure the whole time.
And yet—watching Yuu squint with that tiny, conflicted expression, like he was contemplating whether his luck was simply cursed…
She couldn't help it.
He was… kind of cute.
And paired with the sweet residue of cola…
For some reason, his scent felt even more irresistible.
What was it, exactly?
"…By the way," Yuu asked suddenly, "why did you run off earlier?"
Mr. C.B.'s smile froze.
She hadn't expected someone with Yuu's social instincts to be this blunt at a moment like this.
For a few seconds, she couldn't answer at all. She simply lowered her head in silence.
At that reaction, the corner of Yuu's mouth lifted.
He was doing it on purpose.
He didn't know precisely why she ran—he was still missing some pieces—but he could tell one thing with certainty: her emotions had fallen into a trough.
And the more lost someone was, the more they didn't want to talk about it. The more they tried to lock themselves inside something thick and sealed.
Yuu didn't want that.
So he chose to pry up the "cover" they both knew was there—no gentle detours, no polite pretending.
Mr. C.B. caught the intent in his smile almost immediately.
She sighed, helpless, and sat back down against the wall.
"…You're kind of mean," she muttered.
"I never said I was a good person," Yuu replied calmly, as if it were an obvious fact.
A peculiar silence settled between them—but Yuu didn't press further. He simply drank his cola, unhurried.
He'd already punched a hole through the shell.
The rest would crack on its own.
Sure enough, after Mr. C.B. took a few sips, she spoke again.
"Hey… yesterday, you said you wanted to see my 'real running style.' What did you mean by that?"
Yuu smiled lightly. "Your style isn't free enough."
For a moment, Mr. C.B. didn't know whether to laugh or be offended.
She was the one who pursued freedom more obsessively than anyone—free, seamless, unbound. And yet this guy, out of nowhere, told her it wasn't pure?
If it were anyone else, she would've either walked away or smiled politely and ended the conversation.
But from Yuu…
She couldn't stop herself.
"Why?" she asked.
Yuu's tone remained even. "You don't want to sign because you don't like being constrained by a trainer, right?"
"…Yes."
"And when they tell you to change your style to chase wins, it annoys you."
"Mm-hm."
Yuu tilted his head slightly, as if he were listening through her posture instead of her words.
"But have you really not been influenced by what they said?"
"…"
Mr. C.B.'s eyes widened.
Yuu had seen it the moment he met her.
What she chased wasn't just "running freely." It was that split-second feeling—when she tore through the pack and the world seemed to snap open, as if a shackle broke.
In other words: she was born for a chasing style.
But she wasn't fully pure.
Maybe it was her talent. Maybe it was those trainers' voices leaving faint scratches in her mind. But when she ran, she unconsciously mixed in elements of an escape style—subtle, involuntary.
Right now, her raw ability covered the flaw.
But if it continued like this, she would eventually lose herself.
And she knew it.
That was the worst part.
Her personality was stubborn—once she decided she hated something, she refused to touch it again. She had a natural bias against trainers, and she had a private confusion about her own style.
Those two knots braided together into the tightest chain around her.
Realizing that the secret she'd been trying to bury had been dragged into the light, Mr. C.B. felt a storm of mixed emotions.
Her body softened slightly. Her long legs stretched out, and she absentmindedly tapped the tips of her shoes together like a child.
"Honestly… it feels like I can't hide anything from you," she sighed.
Embarrassment at being seen through. A lost, helpless uncertainty.
But also—strangely—a sense of relief, like a weight had been lifted.
He really was different from every trainer she'd ever met.
Then Yuu's voice cut in again, persistent and unyielding.
"So you still haven't answered me. Why did you run?"
Mr. C.B. clicked her tongue softly.
"You really do have a nasty streak."
"I never said I was a good person," he repeated, as if to underline it.
She fell silent.
She'd known the answer from the start.
She ran because… she didn't want to see him pair up with someone else first.
And then, as if the universe wanted to corner her, another voice echoed in her mind—
If you ever meet a trainer who makes your heart move, don't let go. Do you understand?
Rudolf's words.
Mr. C.B. bit her lip, hands clenched.
Yes.
She didn't want to let go.
If she had to watch Yuu sign with another Umamusume—just imagining it made her chest feel like it was being torn open.
So… wasn't it time to take that step?
"…Then," she asked quietly, "can you show me what real freedom looks like?"
Leaves rustled.
Autumn foliage rose on the wind, spiraling upward toward the brilliant sun—like birds chasing daylight.
Under her gaze, Yuu smiled.
And he extended a hand toward her.
"Then… want to make a deal with me?"
Mr. C.B.'s heart hammered. She gripped the cola can so tightly her fingers almost dented it. For a long moment, she couldn't speak.
Yuu continued, unhurried, as if stating something he'd already decided long ago.
"I'll make you an Umamusume worthy of standing beside the Emperor. I'll show you what true freedom is."
Mr. C.B. didn't know what kind of certainty he was relying on to say that.
But the frantic, restless thump in her chest betrayed her: the thought had already been trembling there, waiting.
She forced a smile. "And what's the price?"
Yuu smiled back.
"The price is… your remaining life."
A trainer could abandon a partner and start over.
But an Umamusume's youth only came once.
So the moment she decided to sign, Yuu would be taking responsibility for her entire remaining road.
Mr. C.B.'s blue-green eyes shook, as if she were trying to carve this scene into the deepest part of her pupils.
The price… was her remaining life.
If it were you…
That didn't sound bad at all.
So she took his hand.
Decades later, she still wouldn't regret the decision she made that day.
From that moment on, Mr. C.B. had found the one—and only—trainer of her life.
…
On the path back toward the training grounds, Mr. C.B. kept glancing at the young man beside her, the corners of her mouth rising uncontrollably.
Then she smiled.
"You know… I didn't expect you to be so heavy-handed."
Yuu looked confused. "Huh?"
"That line about 'the price is your remaining life'—it's like some high school girl making a vow about a 'band for life.'"
Yuu's mouth twitched.
"…You're kind of mean."
Mr. C.B. lifted her chin, smug. "I never said I was a good person."
Yuu sighed, helpless laughter in his voice. "Yeah, yeah."
And as she listened to that laugh, something inside her filled—quietly, warmly.
Then she caught his scent again.
That comforting, sweet smell.
And suddenly—
She knew what it reminded her of.
"…It's like a carrot," she murmured, so softly it was almost swallowed by the wind.
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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