Chapter 69: In the Midst of Casual Conversation

Some time had passed since the Kikuka-shō ended. The world had entered mid-November, and the atmosphere was finally leaning toward the end of autumn. The winter chill was creeping closer than before—and at last, I was able to settle into a proper rest.

The first thing I did after the Kikuka-shō was attend the awards ceremony and photo session surrounded by officials. After that, I was bombarded with a mountain of interview and media requests, endlessly asked about my future plans and my thoughts on setting a world record.

There were some sleazy reporters who even pried into unrelated personal matters, but Tazuna-san handled those unpleasant individuals with adult-level professionalism, so it wasn’t a problem.

Since I’d been exhausted even before the Kikuka-shō, I was told by Tomio to take a light break. That said, with nothing else to do besides studying, I’ve been lazing around in the trainer’s room.

……I’m bored when I’m not training. To be honest, I feel restless if I’m not being pushed by something. Since I’ve been ordered to rest properly, even voluntary training is off-limits, so I’m seriously bored. I’ve been killing time by reading books and doing homework, but eventually, that gets old. Even playing with Uma-musume games has its limits—my eyes get tired too quickly.

As I melted into the sofa, I slid my fingers across the keyboard and called out to Tomio.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"I’m bored."

"Hmm~"

"What about you, Tomio?"

"I’m working."

Tomio answered without even looking over. A little annoyed, I sat up straight.

"I’m working isn’t an answer. Your adorable charge, Apollo-chan, is bored out of her mind here."

"Don’t call yourself adorable… Well, not that I’d deny it."

"Pay attention to me."

"No, I’m working—"

"No! Pay attention to me!"

"Hah!?"

"Come on! Play with me~!"

"……Fine, fine. But just for a little bit."

Tomio let out a long sigh, swiveled his chair around, and faced me. What do you want to do? His eyes met mine, and I felt my cheeks heat up slightly as I averted my gaze.

I really did want to hang out with him. But honestly, I just wanted to pester him—I hadn’t actually thought about how we’d spend time together. Even I had to admit I was a handful.

"…………"

"……Huh? You didn’t think this through at all?"

"Ah, well. How about a fortune-telling game? We haven’t done a compatibility test yet, right?"

"Fortune-telling?"

"Yeah, yeah."

I pulled up a popular fortune-telling site on my phone. Among students, "Trainer Compatibility Tests" were all the rage, with many Uma-musume using them as a reference for how to interact with their trainers.

I’m not the type of girl who believes in fortune-telling, so the results wouldn’t matter either way—but it wouldn’t hurt to keep them in mind as a reference.

"This fortune-telling has a bunch of questions we answer one by one."

"Huh~"

"And based on the results, it’ll tell us how compatible we are."

I tapped through the questions one after another.

Tomio sounded like he had zero interest, but I figured he could humor me as part of his "understanding girls" training.

"Question 1: Can you describe the other person’s family structure?"

"Yes. Apollo’s an only child, with a mom and dad, right?"

"Yep. I’ll say yes too. Tomio’s also from a family of three, right?"

"Correct. Though at some point, I should properly introduce myself to your parents…"

"About that… Ever since I won the Derby, my mom’s been really pushy about 'Bring your trainer over!'…"

"Ahh…"

We completely derailed the fortune-telling with our conversation, but my mom had been relentless about meeting my trainer. She called me nonstop after the Kikuka-shō too.

Come home for once. I want to see your face. Bring that trainer of yours with you. How many times had I heard that by now?

But when your parents keep calling and saying they’re lonely, even a headstrong only child like me starts to feel guilty. I had been missing them too, so maybe I should just make a loose promise with my trainer.

"…Assuming it’s not a bother for you… Would you maybe want to come to my family’s place around New Year’s?"

"Sure."

"Wait, really?"

"It’s a good opportunity, so I’ll consider it seriously."

"Ahh…"

A working adult’s "I’ll consider it seriously" was never trustworthy… If anything, it sounded like the kind of phrase used before a solemn meeting where they’d ultimately refuse. But fine, I’d take it. On to the next question.

"Question 2: Can you predict how the other person spends their days off?"

"…………"

Tomio crossed his arms. Meanwhile, I already had a pretty good guess. This guy probably spent his days off planning my training regimen, researching rival Uma-musume, adjusting interview and photoshoot schedules, and scrambling over merchandise production.

The fact that he spent his free time thinking about me—well, having to think about me—was flattering, but at this point, I really wished the chairman or Tazuna-san would give him a proper break.

"I’ll say yes. Tomio, you work even on your days off, right?"

"…Yeah."

"Seriously, take a break once in a while."

"Right now, dedicating myself to you is what makes me happiest. I do rest when I’m tired, so don’t worry too much."

Hmm. So he was working on his days off. I’d have to text Tazuna-san about this later.

"Anyway, can you guess what I do on my days off?"

"Easy. You bury yourself in books and surf the net, right?"

"Urk—"

Since his answer was spot-on, I shot him a light glare. A little flattery would’ve been nice—something like imagining me doing more girly things.

…Whatever. Let’s move on.

"Question 3: Without words, do you ever just get what the other person is thinking?"

Huh? Wasn’t this question a little… suspicious? Was this actually a couples’ compatibility test?

Our eyes met. Suddenly, his gaze felt too intense, and I lowered mine. Maybe Tomio was the kind of person who could read my thoughts. If so, then everything in my head right now was completely exposed—

"Hah, no way that’s possible."

…Yeah, of course not.

"Well, I’d have to say no too. Even if I can guess to some extent, I can’t fully understand someone else."

In the end, the only thing a person can truly comprehend is themselves. This might be getting philosophical, but it’s only natural—you can’t become someone else. You might see their actions and understand them, but you can never truly know their intentions.

That’s why people have always relied on words to convey their feelings, beyond just actions.

…If Tomio were some kind of mind-reading esper, all my feelings would be laid bare. Would I have to put them into words someday? No—if I wanted to move beyond the usual "trainer and Uma-musume" relationship, I’d have to be the one to break the current dynamic with my own words.

I didn’t know when that day would come, but it probably wasn’t too far off.

I swiped the screen—two questions remained. This really doesn’t feel like it’s meant for trainers and Uma-musume… I thought as I read the next one aloud.

"Question 4: Can you describe each other’s dreams?"

"Our dreams go without saying, don’t they? Apollo and I both dream of becoming the world’s strongest stayer."

"Hehe, yeah."

My dream and my trainer’s haven’t changed. From the moment we met, the aspiration to become the strongest stayer has been rooted deep within me.

That was Apollo Rainbow’s dream from the very beginning. The dream Apollo Rainbow carried—and the dream I inherited. But where did Momozawa Tomio’s dream begin? What was the reason he became so fixated on stayers?

"…Now that I mention it, why are you so obsessed with stayers, Tomio?"

"Didn’t I say it’s because I like them? Or are you asking something more fundamental?"

"…Yeah."

"I see… Sure. Where should I start?"

Tomio stood from his chair and settled onto the sofa beside me. The cushions sank under his weight, nudging me closer to him.

"When I was a kid, I had a ton of extracurricular lessons. Calligraphy, swimming, soccer, abacus, cram school… Ugh, just thinking about it makes me miserable. At first, I managed, but eventually, I got fed up—all my friends were playing while I was stuck in classes. So one day, I ran away from home to rebel."

"You? A runaway? That’s kinda cute."

"…I-It was a long time ago."

Tomio scratched his cheek. Even if those lessons would’ve been useful later, kids don’t think that way. I get it—too much pressure just burns you out.

"I rode the train for who knows how many stops, wondering what to do next… Then, the skies opened up. It was a downpour like a typhoon hit. My umbrella flipped inside out and broke instantly, but I couldn’t turn back. I didn’t have enough money for a hotel, so I just wandered aimlessly… until I heard it. Cheers, loud enough to drown out the rain, coming from a racetrack—"

Nostalgia tinted his voice as he pieced together the past. A secret part of Tomio’s history, one few knew—just knowing that filled me with a strange, giddy pride.

"The noise drew me in, so I slipped into the spectator stands. And right then, the race was about to start."

"What kind of race was it?"

"…I don’t remember the name, but it was long-distance. Really long. The moment it began, the crowd roared, and I saw them—Uma Musume, running desperately through the storm. I couldn’t look away from their faces."

A long-distance race in a downpour? Just imagining the exhaustion makes me shudder. Even as a kid, Tomio must’ve felt how grueling it was.

"The rain was so heavy it looked like waves in the air—but they kept running, unshaken. No sparkle, no glamor… just raw, relentless struggle. And somehow, I found it beautiful."

There’s a magic in seeing someone fight with everything they have. Uma Musume or not, that kind of battle draws people in. Covered in mud, battered by rain—they must’ve been breathtaking.

If I’d been there, maybe I’d have felt it too. That instinctive pull—I want to fight like that. I want to clash on the long-distance stage.

"…What happened after?"

"I watched, then went home. The rain had stopped by then. Got the scolding of a lifetime, but my parents actually reflected after hearing why I ran away."

"Well, forced lessons are miserable for kids…"

"After that, I stuck with abacus and cram school—figured I’d need them to become a trainer. The rest, I dropped."

"That’s… kinda amazing."

"That runaway stunt, the lessons—none of it was wasted. Hard at the time, but now? It all led here."

Tomio smiled, chest puffed with pride. No wonder he passed the notoriously tough Central Trainer exam. Most drop out when the studying gets brutal—but those Uma Musume left an indelible mark on him.

…Kinda jealous.

"Childhood memories leave the strongest impressions, huh?"

"Yeah. You too?"

"Mhm. I think… mine was similar."

Dreams are given to us by others. I’d guessed Tomio’s was inspired by those Uma Musume—but hearing it now made me feel closer to him.

So where did my dream begin? I dig through my memories, searching for Apollo Rainbow’s origin.

"I don’t remember well, but—"

It’s like trying to recall when I first became me—the birth of self-awareness. Bits and pieces float up—"It was something like this," "I think this happened"—but nothing concrete. Yet, I know that day was the start.

"Probably… watching Uma Musume race on TV—"

That’s right. That day, sandwiched between my parents, I saw it—Twinkle Series footage, likely a long-distance race.

The image flickers behind my eyelids, distorted by static. The broadcast is blurry, unwatchable. Where was it? Who was running?

—No good. The edges won’t sharpen. I can’t remember.

I’m forgetting something.

Something important.

A memory buried so deep I know I’ve never lost it—yet now, it’s like ice water dumped straight into my veins. My vision locks.

"I think it moved me, just like it did you—"

A lurch.

Something shifts.

The thread of memory snaps.

"—Can’t remember."

"…I see."

"I’ll tell you if it comes back."

"Sure."

"We got off-track, huh? This was supposed to be a fortune-telling, right? Are there more questions left?"

"Oh, right."

Tomio’s words pull me back to the screen. Whatever I was thinking slips away, unremembered. No time to dwell—the murky fragments sink into darkness.

"Okay, next question~!"

"Sure, sure."

This was fine. For now, at least.

I could've sworn I heard those words echo.

"Final question! Can you forgive each other's mistakes?"

"Hah, no need to think—obviously yes."

"Same here~! Oh, the results say—'Your compatibility is perfect!'"

"Hmm."

"Don't just 'hmm'! Aren't you happy?"

"Guys don't care about this stuff. Besides, there's no way we'd have bad chemistry if we won the Derby and the Kikuka-shō."

"Mmph!"

The fortune-telling declared our compatibility perfect.

We talked like always. I got flustered by his words like always. Everything should've been the same as any other day—yet, somewhere, it felt unnervingly cold.

"...Honestly."

"I should get back to work soon."

"...Yeah."

I forced the icy something threatening to spill out back down, sealing it deep inside.

Even with the heater on, that faint, creeping chill refused to fade.

...Two weeks left until the Stayers Stakes.