Chapter 118: Are you mad?

My younger brother—if you had to choose between hot-blooded and gentle—would fall squarely into the latter.
Honestly, ever since we were born, I’ve never once seen him truly lose his temper. No matter how harsh I was with him, how casually I insulted him, or even when I mocked him straight to his face, he would just look apologetic and bow over and over in apology.

The most emotion I ever saw from him was… probably when he confessed to me about the memories from his previous life.
But even then, what I felt wasn’t anger—just despair, deep enough to swallow everything else.

…Yes. From the moment he was born, my brother carried a dark despair at his core.
That darkness must have smothered emotions like anger and sorrow before they could ever surface.

What showed on the outside was always duty, responsibility, a faint affection… and above all, pity.
That kind of person—annoying just to watch—was my younger brother.

If I had to name one exception, it would be the week before he entered Tracen Academy. I remember he was unusually high-spirited then.
I don’t recall much from when we were very young, but at least from the moment my own sense of self formed, he’d been honing himself nonstop to become a trainer.
Cursed or not, he was still human. Maybe he was happy that all that effort had finally borne fruit.

…No. Not so much happiness as relief.
Relief that he’d finally reached a position where he could help someone.
Now that he himself has forgotten about her—and even his memories from his elementary division days—everything about that time has become nothing more than speculation.

Anyway, my brother is an extremely gentle person.
That hasn’t changed, even now that the curse has been lifted.

He shows his emotions more often these days, but perhaps because he lived that way for so long, it’s become a habit—he’s never once lashed out in a fit of passion.
If anything, the tension and restraint he used to carry have faded, leaving him even more laid-back than before… like he’s finally relaxed his shoulders, in a good way.
Of course, he still tightens up when it matters.

For my brother, even if something mildly unpleasant happens, the present more than makes up for it.
He’s no longer driven by some invisible sense of mission. He can interact with the horse girls he trains, and raise those who adore him freely and wholeheartedly.
For him… even counting his previous life, these must have been days of fulfillment he hadn’t felt in decades.

That’s why he lived each day calmly, happily, without stirring his emotions.
And I could feel the meaning of what she had accomplished in that.

…And yet, precisely because of that—

"Wilm?!"

At the sound of a shout I’d never heard before, my body stiffened instinctively.

The spring series of middle-to-long-distance G1 races—commonly known as the Spring Senior Triple Crown.
Its first leg, the Osaka Hai.

Hoshino Wilm had managed to fend off the closing Teio-san and claim victory, but…
the moment she crossed the finish line, she slowed, then collapsed.

And when my brother saw that, he shouted.

My brother is an extremely meticulous data absolutist.
Using numerical observations gathered through what was supposedly a real reincarnation cheat ability, along with memories of vast datasets stored away in the Horino household—data no one looks at anymore—he can predict what will happen next at a level bordering on precognition.

That’s why he’s exceptionally strong when it comes to things that can be predicted through data.

…But turned on its head, that also means he’s weak when it comes to things data can’t predict.

Take Domains, for example.
That phenomenon triggered by horse girls—something unobservable to us humans, its true nature unknown.
It’s probably something caused by the horse girls’ souls. The way their “colors” shimmer before a Domain opens makes that clear enough.

In other words, Domains are the same kind of mysterious phenomenon as those two people still watching over Hoshino Wilm from the corner of the stands right now.
Of course, science can’t observe it. Things like spiritual sensitivity or hauntings have always been incompatible with science.
Only a tiny handful of people—others like me, who see strange things—can perceive it at all.

Even my cheat-bearing brother is no exception. He apparently can’t observe the unclear things I sometimes see.
As for the “colors” that cause Domains… when we talked about it recently, he seemed to have a vague sense of them, but no clear understanding.

Which is to say—obvious as it sounds—my brother doesn’t understand everything about horse girls.
Domain releases, their strange karmic ties… and Hoshino Wilm’s unique ability—none of these are things he can predict with certainty.

And so, because of that, right now my brother—

Faced with a completely unforeseen reality, one he absolutely couldn’t accept, he screamed.

To be honest, it scared the hell out of me.

I wasn’t the only one facing the unexpected.
If we’re talking about never imagining my brother would raise his voice like that, then this was wildly beyond my expectations too.

That’s why my body froze up—

…But the reason I could move a moment later was thanks to the self-defense training I’d learned since childhood.

Fear and shock naturally make your body lock up.
Your brain senses danger and sends suppression commands throughout your body.

As far as I know, there are only two ways to move freely even then.
Either you acclimate your body and mind to such high-risk situations…
or you engrain a routine—actions you must take, even in those moments.

The Horino family follows the latter approach.
No matter what happens, you take the action you believe you must take.
You hammer it into your body as a habit.

And when Hoshino Wilm collapsed, the “action he must take” for my brother was to shove past the spectators and run to her side—

And the “action I must take” was—

"—!"

Grabbing my brother by the collar, I slapped him as hard as I could.

To be clear, I’m not a violent woman.
Verbal violence, maybe—but actually laying hands on someone is something I almost never do. It’s old-fashioned, and best avoided.
I learned self-defense as a responsibility of being born into a distinguished family, but that’s exactly what it is—self-defense, not something for proactive attacks.

Laugh at me for being risk-averse if you want.
Rough behavior breeds nothing but unhappiness, and the less of it, the better.

But at the same time, a skill has no meaning if you don’t use it when it matters.
And the same goes for violence against family—you have to wield it when you must.
…Yes, I know that’s not something the one doing the hitting should say.

Even so, knowing it’s the wrong way, I still have a duty to act.

Specifically—
when the brother who grew up in the same house as me, the brother I respect, is about to make the wrong call out of panic and confusion…

Then it’s my job, as his sister, to stop him.

Facing my brother—his cheek flushed red as he glared at me with bloodshot eyes—I shouted:

"Calm down, you idiot brother! What is it you’re supposed to do right now?! Let your emotions run wild?!
That’s not it, is it?! You’re supposed to assess the situation calmly and respond rationally!!"

…Crap, we’re drawing attention.
Not just Mihono Bourbon-san beside us—the surrounding spectators, who had been staring in shock at the collapsed Hoshino Wilm, are now looking over, wondering what’s going on.

I’m still a newcomer, but my brother already has a lot of name recognition.
It wouldn’t be good for him to get strange rumors—

…Then again, maybe that environment was exactly what he needed right now.

"—!"

Whether it was my voice or the spectators’ gazes, the heat finally drained from him.
My brother looked startled, then closed his eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath.
After that, he firmly straightened his tie and looked back at me.

"…Sorry. You really saved me, Masa."

Those eyes… were nothing like what I’d seen a few seconds ago.
They were my brother’s usual eyes again.

"Mm. Go on—get to her already."

"Roger."

With that, my brother threaded his way through the spectators and headed toward the turf.
…Judging by how he looks, he should be fine for now.

When I glance over at the turf, Hoshino Wilm is still on all fours.
Her whole body is trembling slightly, but it’s not like her legs are shaking especially badly.
There should still be hope.

Anyway, for now, I need to do whatever I can as her sub-trainer.

I turn around and speak to Mihono Bourbon-san, who looks—at a glance—as calm as ever, but somehow unsettled beneath the surface.

"Sorry for showing you something so unseemly. …And I hate to ask so suddenly, but I’m going to secure a space in the infirmary for Hoshino Wilm-san.
Mihono Bourbon-san, could you help me?"

"…Understood."

…And so.
That’s how we ended up going through a fairly serious, tense scene.

Meanwhile, the person who’d been rushed to the infirmary—

"So then Teio just whoosh! came charging in at full speed! And I thought, no way I’m losing now! If that’s how it is, I’ll go all out!
So I—uh—used accelerated cognition a bit early!
I mean yeah, it was probably too early, or rather I was still a little short of the furlong marker, but it’s been a year since I learned this,
so I figured maybe I’d grown a bit and the time limit had increased!"

…This is what she’s like.

I reflexively massage my temples.
…The emotional whiplash here is unreal.

Using my trainer badge and Mihono Bourbon-san’s well-known face, we managed to borrow a corner of the infirmary.
After waiting a few minutes—

Hoshino Wilm was brought in, carried bridal-style by my brother.

Even to an amateur eye, she looked to be in considerable pain.
She lay still on the bed for about ten minutes, but as time passed, she gradually seemed to feel better.
Eventually, she began voluntarily explaining what had happened to us.

Here’s the summary.

In the final stretch of the Osaka Hai, thinking she would lose to Tokai Teio-san if things continued as they were,
Hoshino Wilm used her “accelerated cognition ability” beyond its 30-second time limit.

It was only for five seconds, but even so, it apparently placed a heavy burden on her brain.

It started with a sharp headache, followed by the sensation that “everything inside her head was turning into a jumbled mess.”

She endured it all the way to the finish line to somehow beat Tokai Teio-san, then deactivated the ability immediately after.

But it was already too late—her body went numb, she couldn’t even stand properly, and her thinking stopped working as it should.

That, apparently, was how it all went down.

And by the time she finished explaining that much, Hoshino Wilm had regained quite a bit of energy—or rather, her thinking ability.
She sat up in bed and declared, "But more importantly!" before launching into an enthusiastic account of how fun today’s race had been.

…Under normal circumstances.

My brother, Mihono Bourbon-san, and I would have smiled and listened warmly as she talked about the race.

Hoshino Wilm is a strange horse girl.
On one hand, she can be calm and intellectual far beyond her age.
On the other, she can be surprisingly childish and innocent—again, beyond what you’d expect for her age.
Especially before and after races, that childish side of hers—her tendency to become blindly absorbed in whatever’s right in front of her—really comes out.

Personally speaking, we don’t dislike that about her.
Seeing that side of Hoshino Wilm—the usually cool one… well, okay, not in front of my brother, where she turns into a syrupy, love-struck, flower-brained teenage girl, but cool everywhere else—makes us feel trusted.

…But.

Talking like that here and now might have been… poorly timed.

After all, the man standing next to me—my brother—was leaking a distinctly prickly, sharp atmosphere.

"And then! The final stretch was incredible, of course, but Teio’s pressure when she kept pushing forward from mid-race onward was just—"

"Wilm."

"Ah—yes."

It was a quiet call.
And yet, it carried more intimidation than any voice I’d ever heard from my brother.

…Wow.
This is a level of anger I’ve genuinely never seen from him before.

"I told you before the race. If you couldn’t fully open your Domain, and if by the time you entered the final straight you were being pressed within five lengths, that was already a losing pattern. That would be defeat—for you, and for me."

"Ah, well, yes, but… I really wanted to win, you know?"

"I understand that. As an Uma Musume, of course you want to win.

…And as a result of running purely on that feeling, what happened after the race?"

"What happened… I mean, like I said, I collapsed afterward—"

"And after that?"

"After that? …Um, sorry. To be honest, my memories and awareness are still kind of fuzzy."

Hoshino Wilm tilted her head slightly, thinking.

Ah, good. Her memory was muddled.

Well, “good” might not be the right word, but I’d thought there was no way she’d be the type to cheerfully carry on without considering my brother’s feelings—or the fans’.

She’s only a third-year middle schooler. Normally, selfishness at that age would be forgiven.

But still, she’s a professional athlete—and an idol, to boot.

Enjoying herself is important, of course, but at the same time… she has to think about her fans. And, incidentally, about us too.

…Yes, I know that’s a harsh expectation.

When I was in middle school, I was barely keeping my head above water dealing with pseudo power struggles within the family and the awkward tensions at home. There’s no way I had the emotional bandwidth to care about other people.

Demanding of a child what I couldn’t do myself is adult arrogance. It’s probably not something I should be doing.

While I’m thinking all that, Hoshino Wilm suddenly goes, "Ah," and then pulls a painfully stiff expression.

"…Um, Ayumu-san. There’s a lot I want to say, but… for now, could you maybe delete that incident from your memory…?"

…Ah. Yeah.

By “that incident,” she probably means the one where she spilled out her maidenly dignity. As a girl in love, that must’ve been… yeah, a pretty rough blow.

I mean, my brother wouldn’t form a bad impression of Hoshino Wilm over something like that after a serious race—but still, from her perspective, of course it would bother her.

But, Hoshino Wilm-san—

That’s not the main issue right now.

"Hoshino Wilm."

My brother calls her name, the pressure in his voice intensifying even further. That was probably when she finally realized just how serious his emotions were.

"Ah—huh? Um, uh… could it be that you’re… angry?"

"Hoshino Wilm."

"Y-yes!"

No, seriously—the pressure coming from the side is brutal.

Even during full-contact self-defense training, I’ve never felt intimidation like this. Is this the difference in seriousness? Training with the intent to break bones versus actual killing intent? Because honestly, this is terrifying.

That said, it’s way past the point where I can step in, and poking my brother now would probably just provoke him further. I keep my face carefully neutral and watch where the conversation between my brother and Hoshino Wilm is headed.

"My thoughts on your obsession with winning aren’t something I think should be denied.

But, Hoshino Wilm—if you push yourself too far and end up with a broken bone, or a brain injury… what happens to the feelings of all the people who were cheering for you?"

"Ah… um…"

"And beyond that… I told you, didn’t I? That this race was a losing pattern.

This time, it was a loss due to my information strategy and adjustments, and a loss due to your raw ability and luck. Between us and Teio’s team, they had the edge in the latter. This Osaka Hai was, in practical terms, a defeat. That is the truth.

Of course, I regret that I was the one who created the conditions for that defeat, but—"

"That’s not true! Ayumu-san thought so much about me—"

"It’s irrelevant. I failed to prepare a perfect strategy for you. That is the only truth.

And at the same time… blunt as this may sound, even with me holding you back, you didn’t have the strength to repel Teio’s fierce pursuit and keep her more than five lengths behind."

"…That is… true."

"As a result, you got carried away by the heat of the race and overdid it. You chose a method that could have shortened the lifespan of your legs—or your brain."

"…!"

"This is my failing. I couldn’t bring you to the race in perfect condition. I couldn’t give you a flawless plan.

So the responsibility for your decision partially lies with me as well.

Even so—though I may not be in a position to say this—as your partner, I didn’t want you to make a decision that involved that kind of risk."

…………No. This is brutal.

Way too brutal.

He acknowledges her feelings, presents the worst-case scenario, confronts her with reality, admits his own fault, rejects her sympathy, criticizes someone he’s half-identifying with himself, denies her choice—the core issue—then circles back to self-blame to soften the blow. And after all that logic, he ends with pure emotion.

For better or worse, this really is my brother’s negotiation style—honed more desperately than anyone else in the Horino family.

…But still. Using this kind of razor-sharp rhetoric on your own trainee? Seriously?

Well, I get it. He doesn’t want her to make choices like this again, and sometimes you do need to be harsh.

And objectively speaking, the choice Hoshino Wilm made was one most people wouldn’t want—a risk that was far too great.

Her accelerated cognition ability is extremely powerful, but it’s already been proven that overuse leads to severe headaches and eventually makes it impossible to run properly.

It worked out this time, but if she’d entered that “unable to run” state while at top speed during the race, she might have been thrown at seventy kilometers per hour without even being able to brace herself.

She made that risky decision based on hopeful speculation that the time limit might have increased—and a momentary desire to beat Tokai Teio.

As a trainer, and as a guardian, it’s not a choice that deserves praise.

…Especially from my brother’s perspective—someone who prioritizes his trainee’s long-term health over winning at any cost.

Talking it through properly and making her understand might, in fact, be part of a trainer’s job.

Still… did he really need to gouge her heart this deeply?

…Ah. No, I see.

I thought he’d completely suppressed his panic, fear, and anger back then—but that wasn’t it.

He’s still angry at Hoshino Wilm.

That’s why he’s lashing out a little… maybe.

As an adult, it’s not exactly admirable behavior, but… considering his childhood experiences, his emotional growth may have stalled back in elementary school. Maybe this much should be forgiven.

Come to think of it, these two really are alike.

They’re both unusually intelligent for their age—and unusually childish, too.
That trait applies to my brother as well.

In other words, this is just one child who went too far, and another child who can’t accept it.

I almost let out a wry smile at the sight of them, but—

"I’m… s-sorry."

Hoshino Wilm said that, pressing her lips together and lowering her gaze.

Having my brother direct such intense anger at her must have been overwhelming. The overheated thoughts racing through her head cooled instantly, and only then could she truly reflect on what she’d done.

The new undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume—Hoshino Wilm.

Right now, she’s one of the most closely watched figures in the world.

With this Osaka Hai victory, she’s now won seven G1 races, finally standing shoulder to shoulder with Symboli Rudolf at the highest peak this world has to offer.

Which also means… if she wins her next race, the Tenno Sho (Spring), she’ll achieve a record unlike anything in history.

On top of that, she’s set to challenge the world’s most prestigious G1, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, this autumn, and countless fans are waiting for her dream-stage revenge against Special Week.

If she were to suffer brain damage or a leg injury and lose her competitive ability…

It’s easy to imagine how many fans—and more than anyone else, my brother—would fall into despair.

Of course, if she still chose to run after that, we’d have no way to stop her.
There are Uma Musume who stake everything on a single moment of brilliance.

If that’s what they truly want, then as trainers, we must follow them to the end.
…Though that might be less “trainer” thinking and more “Horino-style trainer” thinking.

But Hoshino Wilm surely didn’t want that.

If my brother is someone who wishes above all for her safe return…
then Hoshino Wilm is someone who wishes above all to be happily saved by him.

"I-I… wanted to win with you, Ayumu-san. I didn’t want to lose to Teio…

It’s not that I wanted to make you sad. I wanted to win, and be happy together with you…"

Her eyes welled with tears as she spoke, clumsily and desperately clinging to him—

And my brother, seeing that expression, hesitated for just a moment before gently patting her head.

"…Sorry. I wasn’t being calm either. I wasn’t trying to blame you.

I’m genuinely happy that you tried so hard—that resolve means a lot to me. But… if that effort cost me you, I’d probably be completely broken.

So…"

The hand that had been stroking her soft-looking hair slowly moved, wiping the tears from her cheek.

"So, even if it’s selfish of me, please don’t overdo it.

I want to win with you too—but instead of winning today and ending it there, I want to choose a path where we keep winning tomorrow, and the day after that."

Just like Tokai Teio in that Japan Derby—

Don’t burn everything away in one moment. Accept even temporary defeat, swallow it whole, and turn it into strength so you can keep running at the center of this world.

For some Uma Musume, that philosophy would be impossible to accept…

"Yes! I want to keep running with you too, Ayumu-san!"

Saying that, Hoshino Wilm burst into tears and threw her arms around him.

After reaffirming Hoshino Wilm’s direction—

My brother, who has a fair amount of medical knowledge (by his own standards), gave her a light examination to confirm she was okay.

We all wracked our brains over how to handle the situation.

Hoshino Wilm insisted she absolutely wanted to appear in the winning live to reassure her fans, so we had her move around a bit to check for dizziness or headaches.

We decided to report it on Umatter as a mild concussion of sorts.

She rested properly until just before the live, while Mihono Bourbon-san and I stepped out so she could talk alone with my brother.

She performed the live song flawlessly, thanked her fans during the appeal, and apologized for worrying them.

Then we headed straight to a nearby Uma Musume–specialized hospital.

After several hours of detailed examinations, we confirmed there were no issues with her legs or her head, and the day finally came to an end.

We’ll keep monitoring her condition, but for now, it doesn’t seem like anything to be pessimistic about.
…Whew. Seriously, that was way more nerve-wracking than waiting for my trainer license exam results.

So.

The Osaka Hai is held at Hanshin Racecourse, which means it’s quite a distance from Tracen Academy.

With all the examinations, there was no way we could make it back the same day, so we booked a hotel.

And so, in what became the women’s room for the night—a fairly expensive one, at that—

Before the watchful eyes of Mihono Bourbon-san and myself, the ash-gray dragon who overturned the impossible, the undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume—no, the seven-crown Uma Musume—Hoshino Wilm…

"Today, I truly caused you all so much trouble…"

Performed a flawless, full prostration.

"Please lift your head, Hoshino Wilm-san! That matter is already settled—you don’t need to go that far!"

"That’s right, Wilm-senpai. There is nothing you need to apologize for. Please raise your head."

And so, together with Wilm-san, who had properly apologized—

Mihono Bourbon-san and I spent the rest of the night talking about all sorts of things.

Well, “all sorts of things” mostly meant Hoshino Wilm’s love life, and Mihono Bourbon-san’s running—but still.