"Ugh… why is it so dark…"
After an unknown amount of time, Meisho Doto groggily woke up from her sleep. She had no idea how long she had slept, but she felt sore all over, with even getting out of bed being a struggle.
She remembered that she had fainted while running in the afternoon, and now… Meisho Doto glanced at the dimness outside, obscured by the curtains… Evidently, it was already late at night.
Did I sleep from the afternoon until night? Meisho Doto's mind slowly cleared, and she almost immediately sat up from the bed, muttering with a hint of a wail in her voice:
"Then... then that means, I— I missed an entire afternoon of training… Ugh, ah ah ah…"
At this thought, Meisho Doto couldn't help but cry. She had no idea that even if she hadn't collapsed after running that extra lap, Trainer Wada and Imanami still would've stopped her from training further anyways. She only knew that she was currently very weak, and not just weak but also fat. If she didn't train harder, she might not even be able to outrun Mejiro McQueen, who hadn't even participated in a Debut Race… Though in reality, it would've been difficult for the current Mejiro McQueen to beat Meisho Doto under the same weight conditions. After all, Meisho Doto was an Uma Musume who had already won her Debut Race, and there was still a gap between her and a novice like Mejiro McQueen, who had yet to even run her Debut Race—not to mention the amount of weight McQueen needed to lose was no less than Doto's.
But Doto was unaware of all this. She was extremely unconfident, always ranking herself as the weakest among her peers. She knew that she was clumsy and extremely unconfident, which made her prone to timidity and hesitation when running.
Unless it was a race where she held the absolute advantage, one that even Doto herself knew she could win—her Debut Race was exactly like that; she won first place almost flawlessly, so flawlessly in fact, that Doto herself found it unbelievable, leading her to believe she had simply encountered a "weaker" batch.
Missing half an afternoon's worth of training was even more serious for Doto. She had already made up her mind to lose weight and win for her Trainer. An untalented and clumsy Uma Musume like her should work doubly hard… However, "Ugh… my shoulders and body are so sore…" The waves of soreness from her body protested, making Doto want to lie back down.
However, as soon as Doto thought of her Trainer, Wada, and the goal he had told her, her instinctive movement to retreat stopped.
"No—I must continue training."
"I can still make it… as long as I can make up for what I missed in the afternoon in the next training session, it will be fine…"
Otherwise, she will never be able to beat T.M. Opera O. If she didn't do this, she would betray the trust her Trainer placed on her… Thinking this, Doto endured the strong discomfort in her body and climbed out of the bed in Tracen's infirmary. Before starting to wear her training shoes with weighted horseshoes, along with the weights she wore.
However, just then, a sound from the infirmary door made Doto instinctively stop her movements. Almost as if she had a guilty conscience, Doto immediately stopped what she was doing and returned to the bed, lying down obediently, as if nothing had happened.
"Click."
The infirmary door opened in response, and soon, with a burst of light, Doto saw who it was.
"Trainer… why are you here?"
"You are my assigned Uma Musume, aren't you? If I, as your Trainer, don't stay by your side after you collapsed from training, wouldn't I be treating my Uma Musume like a consumable?"
Wada replied without hesitation, completely missing the slight surprise in Doto's tone, and not noticing Doto's small actions before he entered. He then showed Doto a small fruit basket in his hand and said to her:
"This fruit basket is from your roommate Air Shakur, and everyone else. Everyone knew you fainted. Originally, they wanted to send you a lot of tonics, but Imanami-san and I declined, so they ultimately chose this." (T/N: Tonics are traditional medicines usually in the form of a liquid)
"Do you want to eat some of it? If you feel like you can't lift your arm, I can help you."
"Uh, um…" Doto's cheeks flushed slightly, seemingly embarrassed. She had never experienced such care before, and at that moment, instinctively wanted to refuse.
However, for some reason, her arm, which could initially endure the soreness to get up, now felt as heavy as if it were made of lead, unable to be lifted. After some deliberation, Doto couldn't hide her completely red cheeks, subtly covering herself with the blanket, and said in a soft, sheep-like voice:
"P-please… help me…"
…Wada then sat by Doto's bed before taking out an apple, peeling its skin with a small knife and cutting it into small pieces for Doto to eat. With Wada's help, Doto successfully sat up on the bed again, quietly and a little nervously watching Wada's actions.
"As I said before, Imanami-san and I didn't accept those tonics." At this moment, Wada suddenly looked up and asked Doto: "Doto, do you know why?"
"B-because you're afraid I'll get fat again…?" Doto guessed cautiously. That was all she could think of.
"That's one aspect. On the other hand, Imanami-san and I are more worried that the tonics would make you feel energetic again, and you would continue to overexert yourself in training."
Wada finished preparing the apple, he then inserted a toothpick into an apple slice and brought it to Doto's mouth while saying:
"Your performance today really surprised both Imanami-san and me. It's the first time we've seen an Uma Musume, outside of a race, faint from running."
"It wasn't easy carrying you to the infirmary. If Gold Ship hadn't been there, just Imanami-san and I, along with McQueen, whose stamina was also nearly exhausted, would have had a very hard time carrying you over."
"Ugh…" Doto's cheeks flushed slightly at these words. After eating the apple Wada offered, she quickly envisioned the scene of Gold Ship, Mejiro McQueen, Trainer Imanami, and Wada strenuously carrying her to the infirmary… At this thought, Doto felt utterly mortified, and her sore legs showed slight signs of movement, as if she wanted to dig a hole in the bed and crawl into it… However, Wada, being more focused about lecturing Doto, didn't read anything into her reaction. He simply upheld his duty as a Trainer, gently reminding her:
"Something like this isn't allowed to happen again. Tomorrow, you will have normal training for the day; no unauthorized weighted trainings."
"I— I just don't want to disappoint Trainer's expectations…" Meisho Doto's heart skipped a beat at these words, and she immediately stated her position:
"A— after all, Trainer, you said that I must beat T.M. Opera O in the Mainichi Hai two months from now…"
"—You must win, but that is on the premise that you do not fall before the Mainichi Hai even begins."
Wada also shook his head. Before he came here, Imanami had told him many things, teaching him the areas he needed to pay attention to when training Meisho Doto. But what impressed Wada the most was Imanami-san's final piece of advice.
"For an Uma Musume, the most terrifying thing is not losing a race, but being unable to run. And for us Trainers, the most terrifying thing is not dealing with troublesome Uma Musume, but watching the child we have personally overseen grow, and eventually fading away like the setting sun."
Wada murmured, repeating Imanami's warning to him. He completely understood what he was talking about, because… he too, had also witnessed such a scene.
And now, though he was now training Meisho Doto, an Uma Musume he once considered a rival. The goal was to win for T.M. Opera O, the Uma Musume he favored. It sounded a bit ridiculous—but this didn't mean that Wada didn't care about Meisho Doto.
Strictly speaking, Wada should dislike, even detest Meisho Doto, because T.M. Opera O ultimately stopped at only seven crowns, the same as Symboli Rudolf, partly because Meisho Doto's rise in the Takarazuka Kinen ended T.M. Opera O's six consecutive GI victories.
As a Jockey and due to team-related reasons, it wouldn't be strange if Wada truly despised Meisho Doto. The fierce competition and deep animosity between various teams and stables were the perfect breeding ground for animosity to grow. And after all, few people could let go of such personal grudges, especially when they were related to profit.
But Wada didn't, and neither did Imanami or Ikezoe. Because they were no longer their former selves, but Trainers who personally watched these children striving, fighting, and giving their all for victory.
Moreover, Wada also saw that Meisho Doto was now working hard to realize his dream. How could he hate such a child?
"Doto, I hope you win, but I hope even more that you can continue to run. So, please, never overexert yourself or resort to drastic measures to achieve something. Because these are all not worth it."
"Even if we ultimately fail to beat T.M. Opera O, I will still be your Trainer and that will never change."
"Trainer…"
However, Wada's words plunged Doto into an unprecedented silence. After an unknown amount of time, Doto silently lowered her head, her body trembling slightly as she began to sob… "Trainer, y— you care so much for me, I'm a little… I don't know what to do…"
Before Wada could panic, Doto suddenly looked up at him. Although she was shedding tears, she showed a smiling face and said to Wada, word by word:
"I— I will definitely win, Trainer. For your dream, for your expectations, I will definitely win!"
"My purpose in life is probably just to run. So, please train me, and let me win while I run."
"I will definitely not let you down!"
Because you are the only one who believes in me.
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Again, what's with Narita Top Road appearing so much earlier than she is supposed to?
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.