Chapter 4: Are You My Destiny Trainer?

Several days had passed since the selection race. Right after the event, a flood of trainers had come to scout me—turns out, Guri-ko and I had worried for nothing.

But there was a catch: not a single one of them recognized my long-distance potential. Signing with any of them would’ve made it nearly impossible to achieve Apollo Rainbow’s original dream—to become the strongest stayer!

Not that I could blame them. It’s not like I’d publicly declared, "My ultimate goal is the Kikuka Sho!" or "I’ll dominate the Tenno Sho!" the way the Mejiro family does.

Still, I’d politely turned them all down. Choosing someone on the spot would’ve ruffled feathers, and honestly? None of them felt right. Luckily, trainers still approached me during solo training sessions, so I figured I’d wait for a better fit.

I’d expected Guri-ko to grill me—"Why didn’t you pick a trainer then and there?!"—but instead, she hit me with, "I’m shocked Apollo-chan actually made a logical decision." Rude.

Anyway, today was another day of solo training. For a racehorse girl, legs are everything. Upper-body strength matters, but weak legs? Disaster. I was ready to torture mine into perfection.

…Or so I thought.

"Welp… everything’s booked."

Every training area was reserved. Ahead of me, teams of trainers and their umamusume chatted amiably while doing laps.

Without a trainer, I was locked out of the indoor pool, woodchip course, and even the hill drills. That left very few options for a solo umamusume like me.

…The only place I could use was the track I’d been using—except, well, it was booked too. Bummer. I’d grown fond of that spot. Guess more umamusume were signing with trainers lately.

The weather was perfect for a run, but with nowhere to train, I was stuck. Running on public paths was an option, but I didn’t know the area well enough to risk it.

…Fine. Maybe it was for the best. I’d been pushing hard lately—time to hit the library and research training methods. Maybe there was a book on effective workouts for tight spaces.

I wandered campus until I reached the library. Zenko Rob Roy was at the counter, so I asked for help finding training books. She adjusted her glasses with both hands, then motioned for me to follow.

Damn, she’s adorable. Glasses + quiet librarian vibe = triple threat. And yet, this girl would sweep the Autumn Senior Triple Crown. You never knew with umamusume—probably hiding a competitive streak under that calm exterior.

"Thanks, Rob Roy-chan!"

"……?"

I thanked her after she led me to the training section, but—oh no. Her face screamed, "How do you know my name?!" Yikes. Creepy, right? My bad!! Time to vanish!

"Ah—!"

I ducked between shelves, disappearing from her sight.

When she didn’t chase me, I calmly started browsing.

Huh? "Just Do This Tomorrow! Ultimate Winning Training!" What a clickbait title. Even in the umamusume world, these gimmicky books existed. Cute, but not what I needed. I kept searching.

……

Nothing. No real training manuals here.

Just as I moved to another shelf, I finally spotted it. The title was bland, but the publisher was URA. Jackpot. This had to be legit—packed with data from top trainers, proven methods, and even pitfalls to avoid.

I reached for it—

—only for a rough, calloused hand to land on top of mine.

"Huh?"

"Oh?"

When I looked in the direction of the hand, I saw a young man towering at least 20 centimeters over me, staring my way. He looked pretty bewildered—but then again, so was I. I mean, accidentally reaching for the same book in a library? That’s like something straight out of a shoujo manga’s "fated encounter" trope!

I studied his face. Early twenties, maybe? Hard to say for sure, but he definitely looked younger than I was back when I was a guy. Not exactly handsome, but not ugly either. Just… your average, everyday Joe. A face with character.

Maybe I stared too long in silence, because he frowned at me. This must be what delinquents call "throwing daggers with your eyes."

"...What’s up?"

He bent down slightly to meet my eye level, looking vaguely uncomfortable. Being treated like a kid pissed me off, but hey—I was in middle school now. For today, I’d let it slide out of the goodness of my heart. Still, this guy clearly had no intention of letting go of the book.

"What’s up? I’m the one who found this book first," I said, tugging it toward me with a grunt. He countered with a clumsy smile, refusing to back down an inch.

Oh? Trying to resist me, a Uma Musume? Unbelievable. A human can’t win against an Uma Musume.

I was about to get serious—when I noticed something and eased up. This guy had an armload of books on stayers tucked under his arm.

My heart skipped. Wait… could he be—?

"Uh, hey… are you a trainer?"

"Yeah. Well, a rookie trainer, so nobody’s willing to work with me. Haha… sigh."

A rookie. No clients. Yeah, that tracked—no achievements, no skills, no data. Most would flock to established trainers with proven results.

But his words sent my heart racing. He seemed interested in stayers… which made him perfect for my dream. Plus, our meet-cute was straight out of a shoujo manga. Full marks!

Personal opinion? He gave off major "great as a friend, but as a lover…" vibes. Guys like this always fluster easily when girls make a move. Apollo knows what’s up!

…Alright, decision made! I’m gonna be his Uma Musume!! After a fateful encounter like this, I’m not letting him slip away.

"I’m Apollo Rainbow."

"I know. You’re the one who went all-out front-running in the last selection race, right?"

Oh, he knew me? Even better. Time to seal the deal—

"Sigh… Someone as talented as you probably already has a trainer, huh?"

His muttering killed my momentum. Huh? No way! I’ve got zero talent, and no trainer! Hey—why’re you walking away with the book?! Hold up! Drop it!

"W-wait! Please! Make a contract with me!!"

I grabbed his sleeve and shouted. Yeah, libraries demand quiet, but cut me some slack—if I missed this chance, I’d never find a trainer who suited me.

He spun around, stunned.

"Wait, you… don’t have a trainer?"

"Nope! I’ve turned everyone down so far!"

"…You’d sign with me?"

"That’s what I’m asking! Is that a no?""…You’re sure?"

"YES! Please! Make me the strongest stayer there is!!"

When I thrust out my hand, he froze completely. Books tumbled from his arms. Was he that shocked? Or had I said something wrong?

I waited nervously—until he took my hand in both of his, engulfing it.

"Of course—absolutely!! Let me do this for you!!"

His smile practically exploded. He squeezed my right hand so hard my chest fluttered.

Thunk…

His hand was warm. Big. Rough in a masculine way. The size difference was ridiculous. Somehow… it made my heart skip.

…Wait, am I into guys?

"I’m Tomio Momozawa. Ah—thank you, Apollo Rainbow. Seriously, this means everything. Gotta get the contract ready, stat!"

Tomio Momozawa. Tomio… Cute name. Just hearing it, Apollo gets it. I could tell—we’d make a great team.

Tomio was over the moon. I was relieved… and weirdly charmed. Then a cold voice cut through our moment.

"—Keep your voices down in the library."

The voice belonged to Rob Roy-chan. She was radiating such an intense, pitch-black aura of fury that both Tomio and I could only manage strained, awkward laughs. When I glanced around, I saw several other Uma Musume shooting us annoyed looks. Seriously—my bad.

In the end, Rob Roy-chan gave us a polite yet icy smile and calmly urged us to leave, so Tomio and I made a swift exit from the library. We did manage to check out the books, at least.

Later, Tomio and I met again in the trainer’s room. Well, calling it a “trainer’s room” was generous—newbie trainers like us only get tiny rooms shoved off in some remote wing of the building.

Clearing his throat with a short cough, Tomio gave me his usual friendly smile.

“Well, this’ll be the second time, but let me introduce myself again. I’m Tomio Momozawa—a rookie trainer with a bit of experience as a sub-trainer. I’ve always wanted to train a long-distance runner with talent like yours. Looking forward to working together.”

Tomio Momozawa. He once served as assistant trainer to Mejiro McQueen—meaning he was her sub-trainer. Honestly, that alone makes him a pretty big deal in my eyes. I mean, we’re talking about the sub-trainer of a long-distance runner who won the Spring Tenno Sho two years in a row.

After that, it seems he went independent around the same time McQueen decided to take on the Dream Trophy League. The Dream League is a whole different stage compared to the Twinkle Series.

Uma Musume who perform well in the Twinkle Series can advance to the Dream League. And within the Dream League, there are two major events—the Summer Dream Trophy League held in summer, and the Winter Dream Trophy League in winter. But once a racer moves up to the Dream League, they can’t return to the Twinkle Series.

So yeah, basically: the Twinkle Series is like high school baseball’s Koshien, while the Dream League is more like pro baseball or the corporate league. Not that we need to worry about that just yet. Anyway, I digress.

“Um, I’m Apollo Rainbow! My dream is to become the ultimate long-distance runner, and to make my trainer fall for me with my charm—ahem! I mean, my dream is to be the strongest stayer! Looking forward to working with you!!”

I almost blurted out something I shouldn’t have, but covered it up with a cough. Tomio looked a bit puzzled, but then smiled again like nothing had happened.

Today was mostly about introductions, so training was going to be light. If things went well, we’d be working together for the next three years or more, so having a chance to just talk like this was important. If we didn’t get to know each other, it could cause problems down the line.

After we introduced ourselves, we started chatting casually, and the conversation really took off. I mean, age-wise, we’re pretty much the same—well, in a previous life, anyway—so we naturally hit it off. It was fun, like revisiting an old rhythm. I found myself dropping formal speech and slipping into casual talk before I knew it, but whatever.

Eventually, the conversation shifted toward our ideal type of long-distance runner.

“So, Tomio—your ideal stayer is someone like Mac-chan, right?”

“Tomio, huh…? Well, I guess that’s fine. Hmm… Yeah, McQueen was insanely strong. Sometimes I can’t believe I was even her sub-trainer. Anyway, yeah, McQueen is definitely one of my ideals. Rice and Palmer were also incredible stayers.”

No surprise there. Mac and Rice are among the top stayers in all of history. And Palmer? She’s a Grand Prix Uma Musume who won both the Takarazuka Kinen and the Arima Kinen. A front-runner who can handle long distances—that’s pretty much unheard of outside of her.

Then again, even just winning a G1 race already makes you a monster. We players tend to forget that when we’re deep into the app. Nodding along to Tomio’s thoughts, I was caught off guard when he said something completely outrageous.

“But… my ideal stayer is an Uma Musume who can run four thousand meters.”

I froze when I heard that. Is this guy serious?!

Japan’s longest race currently is the 3600-meter G2 Stayers Stakes. The longest G1 is the 3200-meter Spring Tenno Sho. Way back when, there was apparently a 4000-meter race called the “Japan Longest Distance Stakes,” but it hasn’t been held in ages.

I mean, is there even an Uma Musume alive who could run 4000 meters?! That’s an 800-meter jump from the Spring Tenno Sho. Not even Mac or Rice could handle that, could they?

If we Japanese horse girls were to run 4000 meters, we’d have to cross the ocean. Right now, the only 4000-meter races out there are… Europe’s Gold Cup and the Cadran, y’know? Both are G1s—historic races Europe’s proud of. I’ve heard they were once considered the ultimate tests for the strongest horses.

…Huh. Is Tomio one of those old-school trainers? The type who thinks staying power over long distances is the pinnacle? Don’t get me wrong, I like stayers too, but 4,000 meters? That’s insane, right? Right, Tomio?

I glanced at him. His eyes were practically sparkling as he stared at me.

…Oh no. This guy’s definitely planning to train me up for 4,000 meters. He’s gonna reuse his McQueen playbook and turn me into the ultimate stayer. I’m already wiped after 2,000 meters—double that? No freaking way.

“So, Apollo Rainbow… How’d you feel about running 4,000 meters?”

Who the hell would wanna run that far? But… “I won a 4,000-meter G1!” would be one hell of a flex. I won’t lie—it sounds cool as hell. Still, if I’m gonna race overseas, I’d need to win a domestic long-distance stakes first. Otherwise, they’d just call it a reckless pipe dream.

“Hmm… Ideally, I’d love to try, but I should probably win a domestic stakes first, yeah?”

“True… You’ll need to rank up to Open-class too, Apollo Rainbow.”

…Wait a sec. He calls McQueen and Rice by their last names, but I get the full “Apollo Rainbow” treatment? Huh. Guess I’ll have to show him who his star horse girl is.

“Hey, Toshio—mind just calling me ‘Apollo’? The full name’s a mouthful.”

“…Yeah, you’re right. Okay, Apollo! Enough chatter—let’s see you run!”

I’d meant to tease him, but he took it straight-faced. Eh, whatever.

After changing in the locker room, we headed to the track Tomio had reserved. He’d swapped into a ratty old jersey. Any other horse girl would’ve side-eyed him (“Is this guy for real?”), but I just found it endearing.

Ah… Original Apollo Rainbow-chan, and now me. We did it. We finally got a trainer. All that’s left is to charm Tomio, become the ultimate stayer, and bolt straight to our dreams.

“Apollo, why’re you grinning?”

“No reason. Just happy to have a trainer.”

I flashed him a toothy smile. Tomio pressed a hand to his mouth like he’d felt something. Was he happy too?

—Oh.Wait… Did he just fall for me? That’d be hilarious.

“So, what’s the plan, Tomio?”

“Ah, right. For now, can you do a full lap like it’s the real deal? A sprint on the final stretch would help with data.”

“Sure thing~”

Tomio looked the part of a pro trainer with his clipboard and stopwatch. Almost veteran-like… Or maybe that was just the faded jersey’s vibe.

After thorough stretches, I took my position at the starting line. Tomio braced his clipboard and raised the stopwatch. I heard him inhale sharply. My hooves dug into the turf as I sucked in a breath.

“On your marks—get set… GO!”

I launched into a perfect rocket start. Channeling the Selection Race, I pushed harder, faster, letting raw impulse carry me through the course.

“Hah—! Hah—! So… how’d I do?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it all. Let’s cut training short today—we need to talk.”

“…Huh?”

Tomio’s face was dead serious as he scribbled notes on his clipboard. …Is he mad? No way. Did I mess up?

He scowled, replaying footage on his Umaho. The air was heavy.

“T-Tomio…? What’s wrong?”

“…I’ll catch up later. Finish stretching and wait in the trainer’s room.”

“O-okay…”

Deflated, I obeyed. The silence between us was agonizing. Once I finished stretching, I trudged off to the trainer’s room, leaving a pale-faced Tomio behind.