Although periostitis also required a lengthy recovery, it was not like suspensory ligamentitis—an injury that cast a long, ominous shadow over an Uma Musume's entire racing career. Because of this, Shuta An had no intention of taking Oguri Cap to the United States for treatment this time.
With Christmas falling the very next day, he decided to set all concerns aside for the moment. First, he would celebrate the holiday with the two Uma Musume. Oguri Cap's recovery plan could wait until after.
The Gray Uma Musume was of the same mind.
Thus, on Christmas morning, Shuta An went out with Oguri Cap and Berno Light to purchase ingredients for that evening's Christmas party.
There was no need to head to a bustling commercial district. A nearby supermarket was more than sufficient to gather everything Team Sadalsuud needed.
"For today, Berno will be my assistant, and I'll be the chef," Shuta An volunteered as they walked. "But before that, Berno, you'll need to stop by the hospital to pick up Oguri's oral and topical medicine."
"I know, I know~" Berno Light puffed out her cheeks. "I really need to get my driver's license in two years. Running errands like this by bus is way too troublesome."
"It is troublesome for Berno," Oguri Cap agreed thoughtfully. "In that case, I can go pick up the it myself."
"No way," Berno Light shot her down without hesitation. "An injured patient should act like one."
Oguri Cap was touched—right until Berno Light's tone suddenly shifted.
"And also," Berno added firmly, "recently, Oguri, you're not allowed to sneak upstairs in the middle of the night anymore. Focus on recovering properly!"
"Hmm—" Oguri Cap pouted. "Periostitis doesn't affect my normal walking. Let alone…anything else."
"Still no! At least for January, you have to take good care of yourself and not indulge!" Berno Light declared, cheeks puffed again. "And I won't sneak off either!"
"Alright." Only after hearing that last sentence did Oguri Cap reluctantly concede.
When Team Sadalsuud returned home, they were greeted by an unexpected sight.
Tokai Teio stood at the door, a basket of fruit cradled in her arms.
"Trainer! Oguri Cap-senpai! Berno Light-senpai!" Teio waved energetically with her free hand.
"Teio?" Shuta An was genuinely surprised. "Why are you here? And you even brought a gift?"
"Hehe," Tokai Teio laughed. "I got permission from the dorm manager to stay out tonight, and I've already cleared it with the President. I'm here to celebrate Christmas with you!"
"Oh! That's great!" Berno Light brightened immediately—more people meant more liveliness. Oguri Cap also nodded in agreement. Neither of them had any other plans for the evening anyway.
As for Shuta An, Tokai Teio's arrival carried a far greater impact—one that was undeniably positive.
He had originally assumed that an Uma Musume like Tokai Teio, who focused heavily on training at Central Tracen Academy, would have only average domestic skills. Instead, he found himself genuinely surprised. She handled the ingredients deftly, her movements smooth and practiced, the kitchen knife gleaming as it danced in her hand.
"Teio," Shuta An said with a smile as he slid bread into the oven, "your home economics grades must be excellent."
"They're not bad," Tokai Teio replied with a blink. "I just want to be first in every subject, so I practiced a lot."
"I see," Shuta An nodded. "That's a huge help."
"As for Oguri" He shook his head. "I wouldn't dare let her into the kitchen. Otherwise, all these ingredients would be gone before we even started cooking."
"Pfft—!" Tokai Teio burst out laughing.
The party began in the afternoon and carried on into the evening.
Later, Oguri Cap headed upstairs, rubbing her already rounded stomach, intending to take a short nap.
Berno Light remained in the living room, lounging on the sofa as she turned on the TV. Tokai Teio, however, followed Shuta An and sat beside him near the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the small garden.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally asked, "Is Oguri Cap-senpai's periostitis serious?"
"It's not too severe," Shuta An answered honestly. "But since she had suspensory ligamentitis last year, I was originally planning to have her retire from the Twinkle Series. She insisted on continuing for one more year—so now I plan to let her rest for half a year."
"Injuries really are an Uma Musume's greatest enemy," Tokai Teio sighed softly. "It wasn't easy for Oguri-senpai to overcome suspensory ligamentitis and return to the Twinkle Series stage."
"And now periostitis—" Shuta An exhaled quietly.
"But it'll be fine!" Tokai Teio suddenly raised her thumb with confidence. "I believe Oguri-senpai will definitely recover. She's my goal—the one I admire most for the current active one. I want to become an Uma Musume even stronger than her in the future. The honors Oguri-senpai couldn't obtain because of regulations—I'll definitely strive for them."
"The undefeated Triple Crown?" Shuta An asked, unsurprised. Tokai Teio's ambition had long been clear to him.
"Yes!" Tokai Teio clenched her fists. "The Breeders' Cup Series that Oguri-senpai wants to challenge, and the St. Louis–Lejeune Race that Kaichou once challenged—I want to try them all. I want to surpass every senior."
"Those are truly grand dreams," Shuta An said with a grin.
"Hehe," Tokai Teio stuck out her tongue. "That's because I know I have a super amazing Trainer."
Shuta An froze for a moment. Then, a sincere smile slowly spread across his face.
"I won't let you down," he said firmly. "I'll make you the 'Undefeated Triple Crown.'"
Late that night, after settling Tokai Teio into her room, Shuta An returned upstairs. A quick shower later, he fell into the Dream World once more.
—
Monday was a day he could have spent resting, yet Shuta An still chose to go to the Ritto Training Center. He wanted to hear the results of Oguri Cap's examination directly from Trainer Setoguchi Tsutomu.
"Periostitis…and lameness," Setoguchi Tsutomu sighed heavily. "This time, it truly was a failure in our stable's training management—allowing Oguri Cap to race while injured. If you hadn't noticed, and something happened…I would have had no choice but to commit seppuku to apologize."
"It's just that Oguri Cap and I share an unspoken understanding," Shuta An replied, shaking his head. "The periostitis likely started that very day. It wasn't the stable's fault."
"Hearing you say that is the only reason I feel even a little better," Setoguchi Tsutomu sighed again. "She's the ace of our stable—and now she'll need a long rest."
"One victory," Shuta An said calmly, "is not worth a lifetime."
"Indeed," Setoguchi Tsutomu agreed.
On December 26th, after personally sending Tokai Teio back to Central Tracen Academy, Shuta An returned home without making any detours.
"For the next six months," the young man announced, looking at the two Uma Musume lounging on the sofa while watching an NHK morning drama, "our team is officially entering holiday mode."
"Yay!" Even though they had already known this, Oguri Cap and Berno Light still cheered in delight.
"Then where are we going for vacation?" Berno Light asked after calming down. "Back to Kasamatsu, or somewhere else?"
"How about Hokkaido?" Shuta An proposed. "Of course, not immediately. Oguri will rest for a month first, and we'll head out in early February."
"That works for me," Berno Light replied without hesitation. Oguri Cap simply nodded in agreement.
"Then it's settled." Shuta An snapped his fingers. "We pushed ourselves hard for half a year for the Japan Cup and the Arima Kinen. It's time to really rest."
"But Ann won't actually stay idle, right?" Oguri Cap turned her head, one brow raised. "Every time you give us a holiday, you end up being the busiest one."
Shuta An couldn't refute that, but he stubbornly insisted anyway. "This time, I'll try my best to relax."
"Really?" Berno Light narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "I always feel like Ann will suddenly start working again today."
"Probably not?" Even Shuta An himself couldn't think of anything that would catch him off guard today. And then—
His phone rang.
The three of them exchanged glances.
Shuta An picked it up and answered calmly, "Hello, this is Shuta An. May I ask who's calling?" Even though Mejiro Ramonu's name was clearly displayed on the caller ID, he still asked out of habit.
"It's me… Mejiro Dober… Shuta-kun—Trainer." A hesitant voice came through the receiver.
"Miss Dober?" Shuta An deliberately spoke her name aloud in front of Oguri Cap and Berno Light. "Is something the matter? Today isn't a training day, is it?"
"That's right, but…I borrowed Ramonu-nee's phone, and—" Mejiro Dober paused, then seemed to steel herself. "I want to use my points to ask Shuta-kun to go to Makuhari Messe with me!"
"Makuhari Messe?" Shuta An was puzzled. "For what? Is there some Uma Musume-related event going on?"
"It's ComicMarket—" Mejiro Dober explained quietly. "I arranged to meet a net friend there, but the more I think about it, the more scared I get. So—I was hoping Shuta-kun could come with me."
"ComicMarket—" Just from the name, Shuta An guessed it was some kind of comic exhibition. "I don't have anything else scheduled today anyway. When and where should we meet?"
"At the entrance of Makuhari Messe! I'm getting ready to head out now!" With that, Mejiro Dober hurriedly hung up.
"See?" Berno Light sighed after Shuta An put down his phone. "I told you Ann couldn't stay idle."
"Well, I did come up with the points system myself." Shuta An shrugged. "If I backed out now, that'd look pretty bad. Do you two want to come along?"
"No thanks," Oguri Cap declined immediately. "I'm not interested in comics."
"With Miss Dober's personality, I'm not worried," Berno Light added. "I'll stay home with Oguri. Christmas just passed—I'm feeling lazy."
And so, for this trip to ComicMarket, only Shuta An went.
—
Makuhari Messe was located in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture—a massive complex formed from the prefectural international exhibition hall, the international convention hall, and the Makuhari Event Hall. "Makuhari" was the local place name, while "Messe" was German for "trade fair."
The venue had officially opened just this October, making this Shuta An's first visit. It took him over forty minutes to drive there from home. By the time he parked and hurried toward the entrance, Mejiro Dober—dressed in an extremely understated manner—was already waiting in a corner.
Even so, Shuta An spotted her instantly.
"You don't really look like someone meeting a net friend," he commented as he walked up.
"Wah!" Startled by the sudden voice, Mejiro Dober reflexively threw a punch. Shuta An merely shifted slightly to the side, easily avoiding it.
Only after the punch was thrown did Mejiro Dober realize who had spoken.
"I-I'm so sorry!" She bowed repeatedly. "I was too nervous!"
"It's fine," Shuta An waved it off. "Where's your net friend? Let's wait here and go in together."
"Mm! She said to meet here. I just messaged her—she should be here in a few minutes!" Mejiro Dober said, rubbing her chest. "I'm still—really nervous."
For the sake of "public perception," Shuta An had gone out wearing sunglasses and a mask. Standing together with Mejiro Dober, the two of them looked conspicuous enough that anyone passing by would assume they were some kind of sensitive public figures.
A few minutes later, Mejiro Dober's net friend arrived.
"Eh?" The moment she stepped closer, Mejiro Dober covered her mouth in shock.
Even Shuta An couldn't hide his surprise.
"My name is Agnes Digital! I'm currently enrolled in the elementary division of Central Tracen Academy! Nice to meet you!" The small-statured girl introduced herself cheerfully, her words landing with even greater impact.
"An elementary school student?" Shuta An was inwardly stunned. So Mejiro Dober plays online with elementary school students—Naturally, he kept that thought strictly to himself.
"My name is—Mejiro Dober," she said stiffly. "I'm in the middle division." Realizing that the net friend she'd enthusiastically discussed pairings, fan content, and shared interests with was actually an elementary student, Dober's cheeks burned crimson beneath her mask.
"Wow! A senior from Central Tracen Academy!" Agnes Digital's eyes sparkled. She clasped her hands together. "Coming to Japan with my mom was totally the right choice! I couldn't find anyone on the West Coast I could talk to like this!"
"We should head inside," Shuta An said quickly, sensing that if he didn't intervene, Mejiro Dober might simply evaporate on the spot.
"You are—?" Agnes Digital tilted her head, studying him. "Are you Dober-senpai's boyfriend?"
"No, I'm her Trainer," Shuta An replied, waving his hand—offering a half-truth. After all, while he wasn't Mejiro Dober's official Trainer, he was her part-time one.
"That's so nice—" Agnes Digital said enviously. "Dober-senpai has a Trainer who supports her hobbies. My mom won't let me do what I like, even after training."
"The elementary division is when you build your foundation for the Twinkle Series," Shuta An replied calmly. "Your mom is doing it for your sake."
He had no intention of joining in a mother–daughter complaint as an outsider.
"Let's go!" Mejiro Dober suddenly clenched her fists, cutting off their conversation. If this continued, she felt like she'd be left out entirely—and the faint sense of displeasure that surfaced in her chest made her act without hesitation.
—
There weren't many visitors at ComicMarket at this time. Among the trio, Shuta An acted as an escort, while Agnes Digital and Mejiro Dober shared nearly identical tastes. The doujinshi they wanted to buy overlapped so much that there was no need to split up.
However, staying together also brought some unexpected minor trouble.
After standing in line for quite a while to purchase a shojo manga doujinshi, the artist smiled and said,
"I didn't expect a family of three to come to ComicMarket."
"We're not—!" Mejiro Dober waved her hands in panic, accidentally flinging open her bag. The books nearly spilled out, but Shuta An reacted instantly and caught them.
"We're just fellow enthusiasts!" Agnes Digital hurriedly explained. No matter how young she was, she had absolutely no intention of finding a new husband for her mother.
Still, because of that remark, Mejiro Dober consciously kept a slight distance from Shuta An for the remainder of the ComicMarket trip.