Wu You and the others left the training grounds.
Unlike Chiemi, Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross were dorm students—and roommates, at that. They wanted to go out for dinner with Wu You too, but with curfew looming, they could only agree to meet again another day.
So in the end, it was just Wu You and Chiemi walking side by side.
"Ah—this feels amazing," Chiemi said, stretching lazily. The motion made the slender, striking line of her waist impossible to ignore.
Wu You walked at her side, still using his white cane like a gentleman's walking stick, posture elegant as ever.
"Getting me this comfortable… it's all thanks to you, Trainer!"
"…Please don't say it like that," Wu You replied flatly. "That's the kind of phrasing that's easy to misunderstand."
Chiemi caught the faintest tremor in his tone, and immediately lit up with mischief.
She was the type who could go on the offensive without even trying—high-pressure by nature. Add in her naturally handsome, "pretty-boy" face and the massive fan club that came with it, and it was no surprise that countless Umamusume at Tracen had been reduced to puddles by her "business-flirt" lines.
She sidled closer, smiling sweetly. "Trainer~ What do you mean? What's so strange about what I said?"
Wu You knew the moment he followed her rhythm, he'd fall straight into her trap.
He needed the initiative.
So he chuckled and shot back, "Oh? You, a kid like you—do you really know that much?"
"But you're not that much older than me," Chiemi said, openly sizing him up from head to toe.
His height was, frankly, ideal for a man. His taste and presence were refined. His looks—sharp enough to haunt a person after a single glance.
And then there was that faintly fragile constitution of his.
It felt a little rude to say it, but "delicate" could be a buff in its own right. Otherwise, why would "sickly beauty" exist as a trope?
Too much and it became weak, breakable, a gust of wind away from collapsing. Too little and it turned into contrived affectation.
Wu You sat in that perfect middle.
That subtle air of frailty didn't diminish him—it added an almost crystalline, breakable elegance.
What made it worse—no, better—was the contrast.
Most of the time he seemed gentle and polished, but now and then, another side surfaced.
His confidence when he trained.
The edge he showed when provoked.
And yesterday, in her imagination… that faintly wicked, aristocratic grace.
And, of course, the sweet, addictive scent on him—the one that drove Umamusume absolutely insane.
If there were such a thing as a "great treasure" in this world, it would be Wu You.
Because you could always uncover something new about him.
The longer Chiemi stared, the more unfocused her gaze became.
So my trainer… is this tempting…
She swallowed.
"Gulp."
A strange sound at his ear made Wu You's body lock up.
Not good… That feeling again—like he'd been targeted by a man-eating mare.
"Uh… Chiemi…"
"Hm? What is it, Yuu…?"
"…Since when did you start calling me that? And are you… getting closer?"
"Am I? I think this is still within normal social distance…"
"You're practically on top of me."
"It's fine, it's fine—this is normal~"
Normal my foot.
Wu You wailed internally.
He was already fragile enough—if he got "taken down to his knees" again, how was he supposed to live?
Even if he was a fairy, he still had rights!
His sister's voice rang in his head like a warning bell:
"Yuu! Stay away from those bad women who want your body! Your pelvis will break!"
Seeing his imminent loss of something very important approaching at full speed, Wu You immediately initiated emergency self-rescue.
The Sacred Art of Changing the Subject: Activate!
He "noticed" an old familiar sight standing not far from the school gate, and blurted out, "W-wait, Chiemi, look! Over there—there's an Umamusume holding a sign that says 'I was wrong' while doing penalty standing!"
"Oh, that's Gold Ship. It's fine," Chiemi said breezily. "She stands there every few days. Let's keep going."
"No, hold on—okay, new topic! What do you want for dinner? Whatever you want, I'll cook!"
"I want to eat your carrots, Yuu~"
"—Eek?!"
Tap.
Just as Wu You was about to be completely swallowed whole by Chiemi's tall frame, crisp footsteps rang out behind them.
"Yuu…"
A slightly trembling voice cut through the dusk.
Both of them froze.
Chiemi, suddenly aware of herself, turned around with an awkward cough—completely missing the way Wu You's expression shifted in an instant.
Symboli Rudolf stood in the fading light, head bowed. In the hazy glow of evening, her face was partially obscured by the shadow of her hair, unreadable.
"Rudolf? Why are you here?" Seeing a friend, Chiemi relaxed and smiled, then began introducing him. "Oh, right—Rudolf! Let me introduce you. This is my trainer—"
"Your trainer?"
"…Huh?"
Chiemi blinked.
Symboli Rudolf had never cut someone off mid-sentence before. And… why was her voice shaking? Like she was suppressing something violent beneath the surface.
Tap, tap, tap.
Rudolf's footsteps on the dusk street were heavy—each step louder than it should have been.
And then her pace quickened.
In a blink, she was right in front of them.
Chiemi didn't even have time to react before Rudolf's hand clenched her collar and yanked.
"Hey—Rudolf—"
"Don't…"
"What?" Chiemi asked instinctively, hearing the low murmur.
Rudolf jerked her head up.
Her face was twisted with fury, eyes locked on Chiemi as she roared, teeth bared—
"DON'T YOU DARE TAKE YUU AWAY FROM ME!!!"
…
The truth was, Rudolf had seen them earlier.
She had stood in the dusk for a long moment, unable to take even a single step forward.
The Umamusume beside Wu You—smiling as brightly as sunlight—was too dazzling.
It hurt to look at.
Because two years ago…
The person at Wu You's side had been her.
She felt like a sewer rat—envying someone else's happiness, terrified of being scorched by the light.
Even though… she had once held that light herself.
Her fists clenched until the tips of her nails nearly pierced her palms.
Rudolf let out a long, shuddering breath and turned away.
Forget it…
Just let it be like this…
I have no right to intrude…
As long as he's happy… that's enough…
"Hm? What is it, Yuu…?"
Her step stopped dead.
What did she just call him?
Yuu?
Yuu—Yuu!
That had been Rudolf's name for him.
Only Rudolf's.
And now this girl wasn't just standing in her old place—she was even taking Rudolf's way of calling him?
In an instant, the violet in Rudolf's eyes was consumed by jealous fire, burned down to ash.
…
"Rudolf, what's wrong with you?" Chiemi called.
Rudolf snapped back to herself and released Chiemi's collar.
But she didn't answer.
Instead, she turned her gaze to Wu You.
Wu You's fingers tightened subtly around his cane.
The gentle smile he always wore had faded, replaced by a calmness so complete it looked like still water.
So calm it made Rudolf's chest ache as though someone had driven a blade into it.
She had imagined their reunion a thousand ways—joy, anger, resentment.
Even if he screamed at her, she would accept it.
But the one thing she feared most—
Was this calm.
"I knew you would come back," Rudolf said at last, voice low but so clear it made the heart tremble. "I just didn't think… you would choose Chiemi."
Chiemi's eyes widened. Her gaze flicked between them. "Rudolf… you know my trainer?"
"He was my trainer too—!"
Rudolf's words tore out of her like a wound, almost a howl. When she turned back to Chiemi, there was a sharp, cutting hostility in her eyes.
Chiemi's pupils constricted.
She had never seen Rudolf lose control like this.
But what shocked her even more was—
The trainer Rudolf had been unable to forget, the one she had carried like a scar…
Was Wu You?!
"What was that? Wasn't that the President's voice?"
"Wait—yeah! It was! And Chiemi too!"
"Who's the handsome guy between them?"
"No idea…"
Rudolf hadn't kept her voice down. Naturally, heads began to turn, attention gathering from nearby.
As the crowd swelled, Wu You let out a quiet sigh.
"Let's find somewhere quiet," he said gently. "And talk."
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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