Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live

"Achoo—!"

In the cafeteria, a crisp sneeze was followed by a violent coughing fit, drawing the attention of many horse girls to the conspicuous figure in the wheelchair.

"Hey, don't catch a cold." Nakayama Festa, sitting beside him, patted his back while pulling a cotton shawl tighter around his shoulders. Her tone was cool but not without concern. "Honestly, you seemed so much better when you won the race yesterday. How did you get so weak again overnight?"

"You've got dark circles under your eyes. How dare you have insomnia with your condition? Do you think you have too long to live?"

Festa was indeed complaining, but it was just her way of not being too direct with her feelings. Fortunately, Kitano, who had been with her for several years, understood her temperament. After wiping his nose with a handkerchief, he finally recovered and said softly:

"It's nothing, just had some strange dreams yesterday... I'm still a bit bothered by them."

He had never expected to dream about past playthroughs again. Now his mind was still filled with bits and pieces about Rudolf and C.B...

In a way, he had been genuinely hurt by the Rudolf situation. In that playthrough, he had tried every possible official channel to get into Tracen, only to be rejected because of his physical condition.

But after meeting C.B., he had felt a little relieved that Rudolf hadn't recognized him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to explain his situation with C.B., and knowing Rudolf's competitive and jealous nature... she would have likely seen them as mortal enemies.

At that time, he had been on the verge of giving up, thinking he could never fulfill his promise to her. He was about to try his luck at a local academy—remembering that in the original story, Oguri Cap's jockey had entered the central league through a special clause.

He didn't know what that clause was, and he thought the chances of him living long enough to meet Rudolf were slim, but he had no other choice—until he met Mr. C.B.

When he had almost given up, she had extended a helping hand and given him confidence and support. And it wasn't just a little push; as a newly debuted freshman, she had gone to the student council president, Shinzan, and tied her future directly to his.

"He is the most suitable trainer for me. I will not accept any other trainer from the academy. Otherwise, I will continue to run alone."

He still remembered her determined words, which had finally won him that special exception.

It was then that he saw a glimmer of hope that he could hold on until he met Rudolf again. And it was also then that he had resolved to repay this girl, who in the original story had become a stepping stone for the Emperor's coronation, suffering such a bleak fate.

But he had never imagined that he would have to wait another year, nor that so many... unexpected things would happen between him and C.B. in that year.

And now, if he had to explain his relationship with C.B. and Rudolf in that playthrough, he could only say this:

Rudolf had given him his initial dream and hope; C.B. had given him the initial courage and confidence to continue pursuing that dream.

In that playthrough, he could not have gone so far without either of them.

"...Trainer Kitano... what's wrong? You look a little sad."

However, as he was lost in these past memories, Special Week, who was sitting opposite him with an equally large plate of food, put down her chopsticks and asked with a worried expression.

Ever since they had met at the racecourse yesterday, she had shown a strange affinity for him. This made him wonder if she was experiencing something similar to Oguri Cap.

However, after a few simple probes about the playthrough where he had interacted with her, she showed no sign of familiarity, which put him at ease.

—Come to think of it, his encounter with her in that playthrough was a complete coincidence. He had only had intermittent contact with her for about half a year. It was a stretch to even say he had "trained" her.

Compared to Oguri, whom he had brought from the local leagues to the central one, his contact with Special Week was truly "incidental." How could it have left as deep an impression?

If anyone should have it, it should be Suzuka.

Thinking this, he glanced at the quiet Suzuka beside Special Week. Seeing that she, the horse girl he had once risked his life to save, showed no strange reaction, he felt much more at ease.

As expected, Oguri's situation is special. Most of the horse girls in this new playthrough have no memory of him.

"Don't worry, Spe... Special Week-san. I'm not sad, just a little tired."

"Really? If you're not feeling well, please don't push yourself," she said, still looking at him with suspicion. This horse girl, whom he had always been the one to lecture, was now lecturing him with great solemnity:

"Please don't make us worry, Trainer Kitano. If you have any trouble, just call us for help—right, Suzuka-san?"

"Huh?" Suzuka, who had been lost in thought, mashing the fish on her plate into a paste, was startled by Special Week's sudden cheerful question. When she noticed his gaze, she subconsciously lowered her head and said awkwardly:

"Y-yes... Trainer Kitano, please don't overexert yourself."

Perhaps because of Special Week's scrutinizing gaze, Suzuka looked a little uncomfortable, her toes unconsciously curling under the table.

Did Spe-chan... notice something? Did she guess what I want to do? Suzuka, who had made a decision last night after thinking all night, couldn't help but wonder if her intentions had been seen through by her friend, who had been even clingier than usual since this morning.

After asking Festa about the source of her courage yesterday, Suzuka had spent a long time in her dorm room thinking about how to regain her own lost courage to run again.

And finally, she had made a bold decision—to join his team! To see if the person who could give Festa courage could also give her enough!

So she had gotten up early this morning, wanting to wait for him in the cafeteria to make her request. But to her surprise, the moment she finished washing up, trying not to wake her late-sleeping friend, she found Special Week already awake, waiting for her.

"Suzuka-san, let's go to the cafeteria together! I heard they have a really delicious set menu today! I can't wait to eat it!"

...And so, her plan was thwarted by Special Week's uncharacteristic early rising. She was now forced to be a sidekick, only able to approach him with her friend. This made it impossible for her to make her request in front of Festa.

She could see that Festa had a certain dependence on her trainer... and from her performance on the track, she definitely took their relationship very seriously. So she wouldn't ask to join in front of her; that would only make things awkward.

I'll share my winning secret with you, and you want to steal my trainer—it would definitely turn into that, right?

But what she couldn't figure out was, even if Special Week had seen through her intentions, what... reason did she have to stop her?

"What's wrong, Suzuka-san?"

However, faced with her serious, scrutinizing gaze, Special Week just tilted her head slightly. But she didn't know that as Suzuka's eyes narrowed, her image in Suzuka's eyes seemed to quietly change.

In a flash, as if a TV screen had flickered, the gentle, kind face of Special Week before her suddenly became mature, cold, and irritable.

Though it was just for a moment, like a hallucination, Suzuka felt her heart skip a beat and reflexively lowered her head again, saying nothing.

That... who was that? It was like Spe-chan suddenly aged a few years?

But why did I find that version of her... so hard to look at? Why did my heart tremble? Why did I feel a sense of guilt?

But just as she was trying to figure it out, the cafeteria door opened again. This time, the people who walked in were rather conspicuous—they weren't wearing any Tracen-related clothing, and from their faces, they looked more like some horse girl's parents.

"—Excuse me, which one of you is Trainer Kitano Ryuichi? Is he here?"

"Hm?"

Hearing his name called, Kitano subconsciously moved his wheelchair. And when he saw the two people looking for him, he was momentarily stunned.

...Aren't these C.B.'s parents? As her former trainer, he had had a lot of contact with them and recognized them at a glance. But now, meeting their gaze, he felt a strange sense of guilt and shrank back a little.

At this moment, he felt as if he had returned to that other playthrough, to the first time he met them, feeling the same guilt as when he had heard they had learned about their relationship from the rumors on TV... it was attacking him all over again.

-------

Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!

Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA

I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (112 Chapter)

Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (220 Chapter)

Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (220 Chapter)

MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (110 Chapter)

BLEACH: Blade of Purification (100 Chapter)

Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (260 Chapter)

My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (110 Chapter)

The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (90 Chapter)

Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)

Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (60 Chapter)

Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (70 Chapter)

Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (60 Chapter)

Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (40 Chapter)

Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (60 Chapter)

My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (30 Chapter)

If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it.