"Hey, Great Magician, I've been seriously training just like you told me to. It's about time you taught me some magic, right?"
Inside the trainer's office, Sweep Tosho ran up to Fujiwara Chiya, slapped both hands on his desk, and spoke with total impatience.
Fujiwara Chiya slowly finished straightening the papers in front of him.
"At Tracen, you call me Trainer."
"Trainer!" Sweep Tosho puffed out her cheeks. "There, happy now?"
Fujiwara Chiya looked down at the training evaluation sheet he had gotten from her instructor. It recorded Sweep Tosho's training hours and results over this recent stretch of time. It was true. Just as she said, she had been training seriously.
There was only one problem.
Her attitude toward her instructor was still terrible. Whatever the instructor told her to do, she would stubbornly refuse to do it, and only after the instructor left in frustration would she finally go and do it.
It was exactly like a kid hitting puberty, always talking back for no reason at all.
That probably had something to do with her personality, but Fujiwara Chiya felt the biggest reason was that she simply did not want to communicate with other people. She did not like trying to understand others. She was too self-centered.
He still remembered the things Sweep Tosho had said back then: that her grandmother knew magic, and that every person possessed their own different kind of magic. When Fujiwara Chiya went home and really thought about those words afterward, he finally understood what they meant.
Her grandmother had really been telling Sweep Tosho to get to know other people, to speak with them, to understand them.
It seemed that woman had also put a great deal of thought into how to teach a child, choosing words that would not provoke Sweep Tosho's resistance.
Since he already had that example to work from, things were simple enough from Fujiwara Chiya's side. He put down the evaluation sheet and said to Sweep Tosho, "Alright. I can teach you magic, but you'll have to exchange something for it."
"Exchange? Is it tuition?"
"You can think of it that way."
"H-How… much?" Sweep Tosho asked timidly, unsure whether her allowance would be enough.
"Not money. Something equal in value to magic."
"Something equal in value? What's that supposed to be?"
"A sincere heart. Sweep Tosho, if you can find ten good points about your instructor, then I'll teach you your first magic spell."
"Hah?? Ten good points? That person doesn't have any good points!" Sweep Tosho grabbed her hat.
She was already sick to death of that woman telling her what to do all the time, ordering her around constantly. There was no way a person like that could possibly have any good points at all. The magician was asking her to search for something that did not exist!
"Every person has their strengths. It all depends on how you choose to look at them. Sweep Tosho, you need a pair of eyes that can discover what makes people different. Only then can you understand the true essence of magic."
Sweep Tosho's expression turned ugly.
"Magic and miracles are never free. The more you want to gain, the more you have to give in return. You've only cleared the beginner's gate so far. From here on, it's your turn to pay the price."
After thinking for a long time, Sweep Tosho finally nodded very unwillingly.
"Fine. Just you wait, Great Magician! I'll come back once I've found that person's good points!"
With that, Sweep Tosho ran out of the office.
Only half a second after she was gone, a messy-haired man walked in.
"Whoa, my bad-girl radar just went off. That kid's definitely trouble!"
It was Katsumura Yota, and he had two sheets of paper in his hand.
"Chiya, don't tell me that girl is your Uma Musume?"
"She isn't."
"Thank god… your luck with this stuff is awful. Why do all these demons and monsters keep gathering around you?"
"If she heard you say that, she'd definitely bite your head off."
"No thanks. I want absolutely nothing to do with problem children like that."
As he said that, Katsumura Yota handed the sheets to Fujiwara Chiya.
"What's this?"
"Debut race notice."
"Why are you the one delivering it? Where's Tazuna-san?"
"Because I'm in this race too, so I grabbed yours while I was at it. When I said I'd bring it, Tazuna-san even smiled at me, you know? My heart almost jumped out of my chest. Do you think she's interested in me, Chiya?"
"I think she could stroll around Tracen twice and still never land on you."
"So cold! You're not exactly any better yourself!"
Katsumura Yota grumbled while Fujiwara Chiya looked down at the race notice.
"You said you're in this race too? Then our girls are facing each other. Who have you got?"
"Opera O."
Fujiwara Chiya searched for his own runner's name and immediately found it.
Mayano Top Gun? No—he found the one he was looking for.
Matikanetannhauser? No—there it was.
Nice Nature? No.
Then he saw it clearly.
Meisho Doto.
"What perfect fate, huh, Chiya?"
"You bastard, how did we run into each other in the very first race? Don't tell me you did this on purpose!"
"Central assigned it. Has nothing to do with me. It just means they're fated."
Fujiwara Chiya rubbed his face.
The exact situation he had been dreading had finally arrived. TM Opera O was one of the very top-tier Uma Musume in terms of raw ability, no weaker than El Condor Pasa or Tokai Teio. If Meisho Doto had to face her, the difficulty level would be incredibly high.
"We lost the mock race once already, but this time I'm definitely not losing, Chiya."
Seeing the smug grin spread across Katsumura Yota's face, Fujiwara Chiya directly shoved him out of the office.
"What are you getting so excited for? We'll see each other on race day anyway."
"Next time you step into my office, I'm charging by the visit."
"You little—!"
After shoving him out, Fujiwara Chiya sat down and started gloomily researching tactics for countering TM Opera O.
Inside the classroom, the moment Meisho Doto learned that she would be racing against TM Opera O, she basically collapsed on the spot.
"O-O-O-O-Opera O! How am I supposed to race against her!?"
Clutching her head, Meisho Doto slumped across her desk, her eyes filled with utter chaos.
"It's alright, Doto. As long as we follow the trainer's plan, it'll definitely be alright!" Shirayuki cheered her on from beside her.
"Hahaha! So at last the day of our stage has come, Doto—!" TM Opera O strode up dramatically, laughing in a high, grand voice.
"Though I regret that I won't be racing White Wolf, Doto, you and I are still rivals bound by fate! Come, let us perform together a poem written in blood and tears!"
Hearing that only made Meisho Doto even less composed.
"Racing against Opera O… someone like me isn't worthy…"
"Don't belittle yourself, Doto. Trainer thinks very highly of you!"
"A true warrior rises from the flames. Doto, you are a warrior!" TM Opera O declared in praise.
"A-A warrior? I'm just a little pheasant…"
It took nearly half an hour of comforting her before Meisho Doto finally accepted the reality that she would be facing TM Opera O in the first round.
The next day, Shirayuki stood outside Doto's dorm room, waiting for her to come out. The race would begin in two hours. If she did not leave soon, they might not even make it in time.
Don't tell me Doto was so scared she ran away from the race?
No, that could not be it. Doto was not the kind of person who would just flee like that. And even if she had not come out, it probably was not because she wanted to avoid the race. There had to be some other reason.
With that in mind, Fujiwara Shirayuki ran to Meisho Doto's room and opened the door.
Inside, she found Meisho Doto standing there with her upper body bare, and the two huge, white, dizzying mounds on her chest nearly blinded Shirayuki on the spot.
"S-Shirayuki-san!" The moment she saw who had come, Meisho Doto looked like she had found a savior. "My bra broke…"
Because she had been so tense, when she got dressed that morning, she had accidentally torn it.
"Don't you have another one?"
"The rest of them are all in the wash. Some got dirty when I fell over, and some I left beside my pillow while sleeping and they slipped onto the floor and got dusty. They're still in the bathroom soaking since yesterday…"
In other words, at present Meisho Doto did not have a single wearable bra left.
What timing. No, wait. For Doto, this kind of absurd timing was practically normal. Look on the bright side. At least it did not happen in the middle of the race. There was still time to fix things.
What now? Go buy her a new one? But the lingerie shop was far away, and the clerk always talked a lot, so there was no guarantee they would make it back in time.
Could they make do with bandages or tape?
No, even if they somehow covered the front, her chest would still bounce all over the place while running. She would never be able to run steadily.
The simplest solution right now was borrowing one from someone else.
But from whom?
Meisho Doto's roommate was not here, and they could not just take hers. Apparently, that girl had a rather bad temper, so borrowing one without permission would definitely make her angry. The other girls likely would not want to either. Who would casually lend their bra to someone else?
Then, all at once, Fujiwara Shirayuki realized there was someone right here who could lend Meisho Doto one.
"Wear mine," Shirayuki said. "Just wear my bra and make do for the race. Otherwise there won't be enough time."
"Eh!? Shirayuki-san's bra!? But… I can't possibly do something that awful to you!" Meisho Doto looked on the verge of tears.
"It's fine, Doto. This is your first race. We can't let it get ruined by something like this." As she spoke, Shirayuki began taking off her outer layer. Seeing Shirayuki's pale skin, Meisho Doto blushed bright red and covered her eyes, but by doing that she only exposed herself even more.
Looking at those devastatingly large white things on Doto's chest, Shirayuki compared them to her own bra.
"The size might be a problem…"
"I-Is that so? I think your size is just perfect, Shirayuki-san. Very cute."
"I'm not talking about that kind of comparison right now!" Fujiwara Shirayuki covered her face. Of course she cared about that sort of thing too, but right now the race mattered more.
"Do you have any elastic, Doto?"
"Elastic? I think so." Meisho Doto dug through her things and pulled out a red elastic band.
Fujiwara Shirayuki measured it, cut off a piece, and then took out the little sewing kit she now carried around with her, starting to stitch it onto the bra.
"Shirayuki-san, what are you doing?"
"Adjusting the size. Otherwise it won't close."
"But if you do that, then you won't be able to use it properly anymore…"
"It's fine. I'll just buy a new one."
"Ah… Shirayuki-san, for someone like me…" Meisho Doto was almost crying now. Shirayuki was doing this much for her, even altering a pretty bra just to help.
Fujiwara Shirayuki bit through the thread.
Luckily, thanks to Mejiro Dober's ladylike instruction, she now carried a sewing kit with her. Otherwise this would have been a real disaster.
She handed the bra over, and Meisho Doto put it on.
It was a little tight, but still fit well enough.
"Thank you so much, Shirayuki-san… thank you so much…"
Meisho Doto threw herself into Shirayuki's arms. Without her own bra, Doto felt as though she were pressing herself against a pair of soft puddings.
"Doto, you're one of my most important teammates. You absolutely have to give this race everything you've got."
"Yes! Even if it's only to repay Shirayuki-san, I absolutely have to… win this race!"
A fire lit up in Meisho Doto's eyes.
That morning she had been terrified of racing TM Opera O, but seeing how strongly her friend believed in her had made her determined to fight with everything she had.
At Tokyo Racecourse, the announcer read out the opening lines while TM Opera O approached Meisho Doto.
"Doto, as expected, this race's brightest lights are you and me!"
The two of them were the first and second most popular runners.
"Opera O-san, me too… I absolutely can't lose!"
"What splendid eyes! Doto, you have become a true warrior! Hahaha—!" TM Opera O laughed loudly. "Then come, warrior! Dance together with me!"
The two entered the gates. With a metallic clang, the Uma Musume burst out, and TM Opera O and Meisho Doto took third and fourth position respectively.
Watch the opponent. Keep your eyes fixed on the opponent…
Meisho Doto repeated Fujiwara Chiya's strategy in her mind. In this race, her greatest enemy was TM Opera O, so all she really had to do was pay attention to that one girl's movements. The moment Opera O accelerated, she had to follow right behind. Their running styles were very similar, so the decisive factor would be the final straight sprint.
If she could overtake TM Opera O at the moment of acceleration, then she still had a chance to win.
The race passed smoothly through the third turn. Meisho Doto measured the drain on her stamina, and just as she felt it was time to accelerate, TM Opera O moved.
Just like she thought. Their running styles really were incredibly similar.
Then this is where the race gets decided!
With a low cry, Meisho Doto surged after her.
"Doto——!!!"
"Go for it!!"
Fujiwara Shirayuki shouted with all her strength, and Meisho Doto gathered everything she had.
Move already, my legs!
Do you want to disappoint Trainer? Do you want to disappoint Shirayuki? This is the moment. Take that first step toward victory!
"Haha! You really are a warrior——!" TM Opera O cried in admiration. Even though she herself was already running at full power, she still could not shake Meisho Doto off.
But failing to shake her off was one thing. Doto still did not have the strength to actually pass her.
Just a little bit more, and the warrior's blade would have struck down the sovereign.
What a pity, my fated rival——!
With only a head's advantage, TM Opera O crossed the finish line ahead of Meisho Doto.
Staring up at the screen, where her name appeared in second place, Meisho Doto breathed heavily.
She had lost…
She had given it everything she had and still lost.
She had been so close. Just that tiny little bit more, and she would have overtaken TM Opera O.
Fujiwara Shirayuki climbed over the railing and hurried to Doto's side.
"You ran so well, Doto!"
"Shirayuki-san…" Meisho Doto looked crushed. "But I still lost to Opera O-san… I couldn't win."
"Mm, looks like this time that's how it went." Shirayuki wiped the sweat from Doto's face. "But Doto, you almost beat the opponent you thought you could never defeat. Look!"
Shirayuki pointed at the large screen.
Second place and third place.
A gap of one and a half lengths.
"You were stronger than everyone else out there except one, Doto. So have more confidence. You're not worse than anyone."
Hearing such sincere praise directed at her, Meisho Doto burst into tears and clung tightly to Shirayuki.
"Thank you, Shirayuki-san… thank you…"
The old Meisho Doto had been a girl who only ever said I'm sorry.
But today, the only words that came from her lips were thank you.
Without anyone noticing, Meisho Doto had already begun to change.
Maybe that was what it meant to guide a Uma Musume.
"Hahaha, hold your head high, warrior! You are the rival of me, the sovereign!" TM Opera O declared.
"Y-Yes!"
Seeing the reporters gather around, Meisho Doto showed, for the first time, a smile that was still timid, but also quietly shy and bright.