Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live

"Tracen Academy... I'm finally here."

Years flew by. After several years of training, the sixteen-year-old Symboli Rudolf finally stood at the gates of Tracen Academy, her heart pounding with excitement.

The once-willful girl had grown into an outstanding horse girl, a product of the Symboli family's teachings. Even before her debut, her aura and confidence screamed that she was a talent unparalleled in her generation!

This transformation was not only due to the strict and professional education of her family, but also a large part from her own extremely high standards—she had never forgotten her promise with Kitano. She would become Japan's first undefeated Triple Crown horse girl. For this ideal, from the day she began her formal training, she had held herself to the highest level.

She knew that the goal she was aiming for was a new height no one had ever reached before. And to realize his ideal, she had to work harder than any other horse girl to become the strongest of her generation!

For this ideal, she had put in more effort than any other Symboli horse girl, showing a perseverance and tenacity that shocked even her elders. The hardship involved was beyond words. She only knew that all her hard work would be rewarded.

Before, she didn't know what she was working for. The "pride of the Symboli family" was an empty concept to her. It wasn't until he appeared, until they exchanged their dreams as children, that she knew who she was working for.

If not for his support back then, if not for the healing he had given her... she would never have made it to this day. And even if she had, she didn't think she could have handled everything so perfectly. She would have surely lost a great deal in the process.

"It's all thanks to his reminder... I never thought that as my talent as a horse girl began to show, the family would really argue over me and Sirius. If Sirius and I hadn't stabilized the situation in time, the family might have fallen apart."

"It's all thanks to him..."

Now, standing at the gates of Tracen as promised, she felt unusually nervous. When she had first received her acceptance letter, she had been ecstatic, wishing she could fly here immediately. But now that she was here, she felt a little hesitant.

She checked her appearance for the umpteenth time, and only after confirming that everything was perfect did she step through the gates.

She knew he must be waiting for her. Although they hadn't seen each other for nearly ten years since she began her training, she had a strong premonition that he would be here.

He must be just as excited as I am for this day, right? He must be waiting to meet me in his most perfect state, just like me, right?

He would never break his promise, she thought excitedly, her pace quickening. Though she hadn't run far, her heart was already pounding so fast she was beginning to sweat and pant.

And in that instant, her heart skipped a beat, her gaze fixed on one person. There, she clearly saw a familiar figure standing sideways in front of her.

Even though ten years had passed, she recognized him at a glance... His skin was paler than she remembered, clearly his illness had worsened, but he was still standing, and his familiar optimistic smile was still on his face!

It's him! She was certain, that was Kitano Ryuichi! The playmate who had supported her through so many trials, the person she had been longing for!

She saw his profile seem to notice something, his smile widening, just as she remembered.

Did he notice me? The reunion I've imagined countless times, is it about to begin like this?

For a moment, though she had rehearsed it countless times, when the crucial moment came, she felt her throat was too dry to make a sound. Her body began to tremble slightly, her mind went blank, and the cool lines she had prepared were long forgotten.

She only remembered subconsciously raising a hand, desperately trying to respond but unable to make a sound, so anxious she just wanted to rush forward and grab him.

—Until an abrupt voice, not hers, echoed from nearby.

"Trainer-san~"

The moment that dashing yet gentle female voice sounded, Rudolf's excited body froze in place as if turned to stone. The light in her eyes scattered for a moment, but she noticed the source of the voice, a horse girl whose figure, appearance, and aura were no less than her own, running straight towards him.

Under her dazed gaze, this unknown horse girl and her Kitano embraced without any hesitation, both of them beaming with joy. The undisguised love in that horse girl's smile was so piercing to her eyes.

For a moment, the frozen Rudolf even suspected she was hallucinating... that the person who ran over to embrace him was her own body, that her soul was just stuck in place, not having caught up yet.

But what pulled her back to reality were the two passerby horse girls beside her. Seeing the embrace, they showed knowing, ambiguous smiles and began to whisper:

"As expected, Trainer Kitano and C.B.-senpai look so good together. Are they really not dating?"

"Idiot, they might not say it, but they're definitely dating in secret. It's just that if they announced it, they'd be swarmed by reporters, so they'll never admit it!"

"Ah I'm so jealous. I want to swap lives with C.B.-senpai. I wish I had a trainer who saved me like that"

The conversation of the two passersby finally brought Rudolf back to her senses. She suppressed the turmoil in her heart, took a deep breath, and, forcing her emotions down, asked in a low voice:

"Excuse me, senpais. I'm a new student. Could you tell me more about—their relationship over there?"

"Hm? A new student? You don't know about C.B.-senpai and Trainer Kitano?"

However, the first words from the passerby shattered the last shred of fantasy in Rudolf's heart... Kitano, that surname was not very common. For it to appear at Tracen now, there could only be one possibility.

Kitano... he might have already forgotten their childhood promise. He has now found another horse girl to be his charge.

"...Yes, I don't get out much."

Still, Rudolf forced down the trembling in her heart and asked with a strained smile, "Could you please tell me more?"

"Heehee, you must be envious too, right? Their relationship." The other passerby seemed to have misunderstood. Under Rudolf's gaze, she finally revealed everything she knew, and it became the last straw that broke Rudolf's spirit.

"Those two are a famous pair at our academy! Mr. C.B. and Kitano Ryuichi! They're acknowledged by everyone as the perfect couple! No one can interfere!"

"Rumor has it that when Trainer Kitano couldn't get a job here due to his health, it was C.B.-senpai who went against everyone, even argued with President Shinzan, to get him a special exception! It's practically love at first sight!"

As she said this, Passerby A was lost in envy. At this moment, Passerby B couldn't resist sharing more, completely oblivious to Rudolf's slightly bowed head and trembling body:

"And that's not all! I heard that during the Satsuki Sho, Trainer Kitano had a relapse and almost died! But the moment C.B.-senpai won the race, he was miraculously out of danger!"

"And after she won the Japanese Derby recently, he recovered enough to walk! You can't explain this with science. Maybe it's really a blessing from the Three Goddesses."

"As expected, it has to be C.B.-senpai. After the Kikuka Sho in a few months, she'll be Japan's first undefeated Triple Crown horse girl, right?"

BOOM!

At that moment, their words were like a thunderclap in Rudolf's ears. Already dazed, when she heard the words "undefeated Triple Crown," she looked up blankly.

And in the next moment, she felt as if something inside her had shattered...

It was her hope, her fantasy of so many years, the "faith" that had unknowingly become her support through all hardships... shattered on the ground at this moment.

It's gone. At this moment, Rudolf felt she had nothing left.

Her perseverance, her dream of the "undefeated Triple Crown," the promise she wanted to fulfill... all of it had been taken away, taken by that horse girl named "Mr. C.B." She had taken her place, stood by the side of the person she had been longing for, and became the one to realize his ideal.

...Then what was she? What was she?!

A delayed sense of unwillingness, tears welling up but stubbornly not falling, she clenched her fists so tightly that her nails pierced her skin, lines of blood trickling down between her fingers...

Actually, she had been mentally prepared. Ten years was enough for a person to forget a lot. She had known all along that she might be the only one foolishly using this promise as motivation, that in the end, she might only have these childhood memories to comfort herself.

For Rudolf, from the moment he forgot her, he had "died" in her memories. Now, this person who had forgotten their promise, who no longer remembered her... was just a stranger to her.

But her chest still couldn't suppress this anger, her heart still had unvented fury. She, Symboli Rudolf, after shedding all the disguises of dignity, authority, and kindness, was, deep down, never a magnanimous horse girl.

Kitano... just you wait. I will prove to you that your undefeated Triple Crown charge... is nothing in my eyes.

I will prove to you that I am the strongest horse girl in Japan. I will make you regret this day forever.

Symboli Rudolf's vacant eyes stared at the bloody marks on her open palm. At this moment, all her feelings for him had turned into a bone-deep... anger of "betrayal."

The disheartened young horse girl, her eyes blazing with fire, looked one last time at the boy who had once made her cheer with joy. Finally, suppressing the trembling in her heart, she forced herself to turn and walk away, never looking back.

So much so that she didn't know that the moment she turned, the boy had subconsciously reached out, just like her, but then, realizing something, had forced a smile and lowered his hand...

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