Though old steeds may yet long for a thousand-li journey, even if I perish, I still...
Clack!
The horseshoe on her foot struck the step. Fujiwara Shirayuki lost her balance and fell flat to the ground, effectively giving her first kiss to a slab of marble.
Holding her aching, reddened forehead, Fujiwara Shirayuki sat back up.
This thing is seriously too annoying!
She rubbed her sore, aching ankle and muttered her complaints under her breath. Right now, the only way she could keep going was by saying bizarre things to forcibly distract herself. Otherwise, this training would disgust her to death.
The heaviness on her feet constantly restrained her. Fujiwara Shirayuki felt as though she were walking through mud.
Even though this training had been suggested by Fumino and approved by Chiya, it felt less like training and more like some kind of punishment. It was as though it had been designed to discipline disobedient Uma Musume until even walking became an impossible luxury.
Fujiwara Shirayuki now deeply understood the treatment of prisoners chained to iron weights in their cells, and she also realized what those two Uma Musume who had left her before must have felt when she used to put them through high-pressure training.
I'm sorry. That was my fault. I never imagined it would be this exhausting...
Fujiwara Shirayuki silently apologized to the two girls who had once left her. There was no way anyone's mood could remain good when forced to train like this every single day.
Work and rest have to be balanced, work and rest have to be balanced... After this kind of harsh training, they absolutely needed some carefree fun afterward to let off steam. Otherwise, the Uma Musume's mentality would definitely end up in terrible shape.
For example, right now Shirayuki very much wanted to stomp Chiya flat underfoot and make him experience this dreadful weight for himself. With his human body, he would probably be half-dead in less than a day.
Clunk, clunk, clunk...
Dragging her oversized horseshoes, Fujiwara Shirayuki entered the classroom. She looked around for Doto, the one other person suffering alongside her, but could not find her anywhere. It was only just before class started that Doto finally rushed into the room.
The moment the door opened, Shirayuki was stunned by her appearance.
Meisho Doto's hair was a complete mess, her clothes were disheveled and torn, and they were covered everywhere with scuffs and ripped marks. Her white tights were smeared with dust, making the sight even more striking.
"S-S-S-Sorry! I'm late!"
With her schoolbag in hand, Doto panted out the apology.
The teacher pushed up his glasses.
"Mm. Go on in."
He was a man who had seen all sorts of things. A scene like this barely counted.
Meisho Doto hurried into the room, but thud, she accidentally kicked the leg of a nearby desk, sending it skidding away while she herself fell to the floor.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
She scrambled back up and apologized rapidly to the classmate whose desk she had hit.
Fujiwara Shirayuki's expression turned complicated.
For Doto, this training was like adding snow on top of frost. Her luck was already poor to begin with, and now that she had these horseshoes on, the unpredictability of her life had multiplied several times over.
After class, Fujiwara Shirayuki went over and asked what had happened. Only then did she learn the whole story. Doto had fallen down once on the dorm stairs that morning, then once on the way to school, then once while climbing the classroom stairs, and then again when entering the room.
Luckily, her body was absurdly sturdy. She had fallen that many times and still been fine. If it had been another Uma Musume, she would probably be lying in the infirmary by now.
"If you're really not used to them, then take them off."
Shirayuki pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the dirt from Doto's face.
"But this is part of training, right? I think it's better to listen to Trainer."
After thanking Shirayuki, Doto timidly answered with her small hands folded together.
Doto really was that type of girl. Even though she was scatterbrained most of the time, she listened to her trainer extremely well. If he told her to do something, she did it. She had never once openly resisted him. Other than Rice Shower, she was the most obedient Uma Musume in the team.
Still, obedience had its limits. If something truly did not suit you, then you should not force yourself through it.
Looking at Doto's dirty, bedraggled state, Fujiwara Shirayuki felt a pang of sympathy.
She carefully picked bits of gravel out of Doto's hair.
"Somehow... Shirayuki-chan feels kind of like a mother..."
"Huh?"
"Ah, I didn't mean it like that. I mean, Shirayuki-chan just seems really good at taking care of people."
"I guess so."
Fujiwara Shirayuki answered casually.
"For me, that's already more than enough..."
Doto's voice was so quiet it was barely audible.
In truth, Shirayuki was one of the very few classmates who had always treated her kindly. Most of the others avoided her because she always caused trouble without meaning to.
Shirayuki was different.
Doto had slipped and splashed freshly drawn water all over her. Her leaking pen had stained Shirayuki's socks. She had turned in homework for Shirayuki but handed it to the wrong teacher, getting Shirayuki summoned away.
Doto had caused Shirayuki so many problems, and yet every single time, Shirayuki had simply smiled and forgiven her.
Even during the race before, Shirayuki had gone so far as to give her her own undergarment to help her out. That level of care was something Doto had only ever felt from family. She could not put her gratitude toward Shirayuki into words. She wanted to do something for Shirayuki in return, but she was afraid that if she tried, she would only mess it up again.
So she had kept that gratitude buried in her heart.
"Alright, now you're all cleaned up."
Shirayuki wiped Doto's face clean and then tucked the dirty handkerchief back into her pocket.
"If you really can't get used to them, then take the shoes off. There are plenty of ways to train. If one method doesn't work, there'll always be another that suits you. And sometimes, even what a trainer says isn't necessarily right. He sits in his office all day, so there are things he just won't notice. If something's wrong, you need to tell him. That way he'll understand."
"Y-Yes!"
Looking at Fujiwara Shirayuki, who was instructing her almost like a mother would, Meisho Doto sat up perfectly straight. Just as she was about to thank her properly, Shirayuki got called away by Special Week and the others.
That left Meisho Doto sitting there by herself.
"Hahaha! What is this, my fated rival? Why does your gaze linger so long?"
Hands on her hips, TM Opera O strode up to her.
Like Shirayuki, she was one of the few people in class who never treated Doto as a burden. No matter how much trouble Doto accidentally caused or how ridiculous the aftermath made her look, TM Opera O always ended things with some variation of, "Even like this, I remain beautiful."
Because of her overwhelming self-confidence, TM Opera O never blamed other people. In her eyes, everything that happened to her was a miracle bestowed by the gods.
"O-Opera O!"
Startled by the sudden greeting, Meisho Doto hastily lowered her head.
"Doto, your eyes have been fixed on Shirayuki this whole time. Could it be that you, too, have awakened that sort of awareness?"
"That sort of awareness?"
"Indeed. The battlefield between the White Wolf and the Overlord. I can smell the smoke of war in the air. It is so rich. How I long to face her on the track again."
"Ah... I wasn't really thinking about that."
Meisho Doto looked toward the snow-white figure.
"I just think... Shirayuki-chan is like an angel. She shines so brightly."
I wonder if someday I'll be able to pull Shirayuki-chan aside the way Spe-chan and Grass Wonder do, and just talk to her without worrying...
Meisho Doto opened her schoolbag and quietly took out a clear sealed pouch. Inside it was Shirayuki's undergarment.
Watching Shirayuki laughing together with everyone else, Doto hugged the pouch to her chest.
Just a little longer... let me hold onto it just a little longer.