"Wait! Meisho Doto, don't be rash!"
With the precedent set by "T.M. Opera O," Wada understood that as former 'beasts,' despite now possessing human intellect, they were still largely driven by their wild, animalistic side.
Animals generally shared three main instincts: the desire to survive, the desire to eat, and well... the desire to propagate.
One could say that Wada had been supremely lucky; with "T.M. Opera O" already being incredibly well-behaved even back when she was a horse.
But "Meisho Doto" on the other hand... he could only be described as 'horse-like' back in his racing days, which only started to soften when he retired.
Still, his attitude towards Wada never changed one bit, with "Meisho Doto" always acting aggressive towards him every time he came.
Just like now...
With a helpless yelp, Wada felt a force he couldn't possibly resist suddenly strike him, his whole body uncontrollably falling backward.
Feeling a dampened, but still fuzzy sensation of pain, Wada knew that he had been thrown onto the bed by Meisho Doto.
"Don't resist. I didn't come here to hurt you."
As an encroaching feeling of fear and anxiety crawled up Wada's spine, he saw an expression he never expected to see on Meisho Doto's face, 'uncontrollable greed.'
Although Wada was internally panicking right now, he somehow managed to outwardly stay calm as he started bargaining for his purity with great restraint.
"H- hey, you hate me, right? The last time we met, you hit me in the chest quite hard. So how about you just beat me up instead? T- there's no need for this."
"A- and, "Meisho Doto"... I'm sure Doto would surely oppose this, right? Even if you don't care about me or T.M. Opera O, can't you consider your other self's feelings?"
"Sigh... tsk, tsk, it seems your self-awareness is not that good after all, Wada."
Seemingly amused by Wada's words, "Meisho Doto" chuckled softly as she climbed onto the bed and laid down on Wada, almost pressing her entire body against him.
Being the victim of this ordeal, seeing the usually pure and innocent Meisho Doto suddenly making such moves was absolutely devastating to Wada as a man.
This was especially so since her body was not at all flat like McQueen's, nor underdeveloped like Teio's; it was a truly devilishly voluptuous body.
Her body had musculature, yet it was as soft as a beanbag chair, the kind where a person's willpower would completely dissipate once they lay on it.
And "Meisho Doto," clearly aware of her advantages, intentionally and unintentionally teased Wada, requiring him to grit his teeth and desperately clear his mind of intrusive thoughts.
"Although I'm the one that's putting it into action, my other self was the one that actually came up with the plan. We share the same memories, if you weren't aware."
"It's also precisely because of this that I truly understand what she desires. I'm just doing the dirty work so that she can finally be happy for once."
"Wada Ryuji, I'm sure you've noticed for a long time now. Meisho Doto has feelings for you, feelings so strong and intense that she can't extricate herself from them no matter how hard she tries."
"And, I'm also sure that you're aware of how well of a job you've done in reciprocating, or at the very least, resolving these feelings, right?"
...Wada did not, or rather, could not find it in himself to answer these questions.
He had, of course, long since noticed Meisho Doto's romantic feelings for him.
However, by then, Wada had already confirmed his own inner feelings; after having a tacit understanding with T.M. Opera O, he couldn't just turn around and casually continue to get closer with Meisho Doto.
Moreover, if Wada truly explained everything to Meisho Doto and plainly rejected her, he was afraid that the blow would be so great to the point her career would get affected.
At least, he felt he had to wait until Meisho Doto truly retired before resolving the matter with her properly.
Wada was a Trainer first and foremost; he would absolutely not allow his Uma Musume to falter because of personal matters— especially since it was his own personal matters.
This was the reason why Wada quickly distanced himself from Meisho Doto and Fumino Nase.
Fumino Nase, apart from their occasional lessons, had almost no contact time with Wada recently.
And for Meisho Doto, while Wada still interacted with her normally on account of her being his Uma Musume, he made extra sure not to cross any boundaries.
This also implicitly meant that either Meisho Doto did not notice anything amiss, or perhaps... she had sensed Wada's shift in attitude, deciding to bottle up her feelings and never proactively bring them up, even if it came at the cost of her own broken heart.
But, while Meisho Doto might be a shy, introverted girl who kept her thoughts hidden, "Meisho Doto" was not.
Once she fully awakened, "Meisho Doto," who shared the exact same memories as Meisho Doto, saw every little moment of her time with Wada down to the smallest details like how Doto felt.
From initially challenging and winning against T.M. Opera O, to growing budding feelings for her Trainer, to then feeling like she was neglected, all the way to "Meisho Doto's" awakening after the Osaka Hai.
To be honest, "Meisho Doto" had to admit it, she clearly understood why her other self would fall for the human she once thought was named 'T.M. Opera O.'
Although he had an agenda in taking Meisho Doto in as his first Uma Musume, he didn't hide it from her whatsoever and never stopped supporting her even after her 'usefulness' was finished.
Thus, "Meisho Doto" had also tacitly approved of Wada and her other self's relationship.
Moreover, Wada had helped her in achieving her lifelong wish of defeating T.M. Opera O, which she failed in her previous life; plus, if it weren't for this condition, she probably would still be munching on grass in the stable.
"Regardless, you are right that I still hold a grudge against you; or rather, the true 'T.M. Opera O.'"
When "Meisho Doto" mentioned T.M. Opera O's name, she made no effort to hide her dislike for this rival of hers.
Before, when she was still a Racehorse, she couldn't connect the name 'T.M. Opera O' with the actual Racehorse, instead attributing the cause behind the suffering of her handlers to Wada.
However, now that she had gained human intelligence, "Meisho Doto" finally directed her hatred towards the correct person.
As for Wada Ryuji, the former 'T.M. Opera O,' ravaging him would be killing two birds with one stone, making her other self happy while also making T.M. Opera O suffer another loss at her hands.
"Tell me, Wada Ryuji, what kind of expression would T.M. Opera O make if she found out her Trainer had already been 'eaten' by her rival who she thought already lost? I think it would be very fun, wouldn't it?"
"Heh, just imagining it is already making me excited~!"
"Wait!!Wait!Wait!!Wait!!Wait!!!!!"
Realizing that "Meisho Doto" was genuinely serious about doing this, Wada immediately started resisting.
Unfortunately, the difference in strength between a human and an Uma Musume was simply too great, especially since Meisho Doto was considered strong even among her fellow species.
Of course, Wada didn't go down without a fight, even attempting to bite "Meisho Doto," though his efforts were in vain, the body pressing down on him making him unable to move.
"Don't make this hard on yourself, Wada. I can touch you and make you touch me wherever I want, however I want."
"Come on, feel this... I remember you staring at them quite a bit during you and my other self's first couple months together, aren't they much better than T.M. Opera O's~?"
Forcefully, "Meisho Doto" grabbed Wada's hand and guided it to her chest.
But, just when Wada felt the soft flesh, wondering if he really was going to get sexually assaulted, "Meisho Doto's" expression suddenly turned a bit strange.
"Tch— my other self, I'm helping you out here, just sleep for a while and—"
"—FUCK OFF!! DON'T TOUCH TRAINER!!!!"
Amidst both Meisho Doto's screams of resistance, the eyes belonging to the body of Meisho Doto finally returned to their original colour, her initial expression of pain immediately turning into horror and panic.
Fortunately for Wada, it seemed like Meisho Doto had managed to regain control over her body, having thoroughly thrashed her other self.
"Ha... ha..."
Panting heavily with a look of exhaustion on her face, it was clear that regaining control from her other self was not an easy task.
Unlike "T.M. Opera O," "Meisho Doto" was obviously much more overbearing, requiring Meisho Doto to showcase intense will as well as focus before finally succeeding.
And, having come to her senses, Meisho Doto realized that she was currently pressing down on Wada... with her hand still holding Wada's towards her breasts.
"Tr- Trainer..."
The instant it all hit her, Meisho Doto, who hadn't had time to react, instantly became flustered, her eyes turning into spirals and her ahoge tensing up as if alive.
Finally, Meisho Doto seemed to lose all her strength and unceremoniously collapsed, slumping onto Wada's body on the bed.
'...This counts as surviving, right?'
Huffing the biggest sigh of relief in his life, Wada didn't even bother to move Doto's body on top of him.
Still shaken, all Wada felt he wanted right now was to take a good nap.
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For that one guy during chapter 9 who asked why Meisho Doto didn't hate Wada, we've reached the chapter!
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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.