The man and the woman looked at each other, and he seemed to recall that afternoon when they had first met.
He had just passed the trainer qualification exam then. It had been a rare opportunity, and Nishizaki Ryu had brought him to the middle school selection trials. Standing at the edge of the track, he watched the young horse girls in the field throw everything they had into a single chance, only to end with faces either ecstatic or broken with disappointment.
Not every horse girl was qualified to enter Central Tracen Academy. The overwhelming majority of those who took the test would never get that opportunity. Even if they transferred to a regional school, many of them still might never amount to anything.
The dividing line between strength and weakness was always painfully clear, just like the exam papers they themselves had taken. Sometimes all it took was a slight shift in numbers for the difference in scores to become unbearably glaring.
Perhaps he had felt a measure of pity then. He had heard of many horse girls who trained until they vomited, all for the chance to run in a single graded race and see that stage for themselves. Watching those children cry in the field only made him more determined that one day he would take a horse girl who lacked outstanding talent and not only show her that stage, but bring her all the way to the very front, to the very top.
He had turned to leave.
Then, by chance, he met the gaze of someone on the elevated viewing platform who had suddenly looked his way. He had been startled at how a woman who did not seem much older than him could carry such force in her eyes.
Then the shrieks of countless young horse girls rang out across the field.
Only then did he realize that she was the famous Tōjō Hana, the woman who, despite her youth, was already qualified to contend for the title of Japan's number one trainer.
No wonder her gaze had been so sharp.
His thoughts circled back to the present.
Behind those thick lenses, the woman's eyes no longer held the edge they once had. Suzuka's departure, the failures and injuries of El Condor Pasa and Grass Wonder, and everything else that had happened this year had left this woman, who had once always radiated fighting spirit like an older sister figure, with an unmistakable weariness in her eyes.
Teruizumi Shinji did feel a little sorry for her.
He simply did not know how to show it.
When she had climbed to that position, she had been destined to face every kind of pressure.
That crown had never been easy to wear.
"Shinji…"
Tōjō Hana's voice was low. Compared to Narita Brian, she understood Shinji's feelings better. She had walked through those years beside him. She had seen and heard the pain he had carried.
Shinji heard what lay behind that soft call: guilt, and a plea.
"Help her," she said. "And… help me too."
As she spoke, Shinji could hear the faintly tense breathing of Tazuna and Narita Brian. One was a senior who had looked after him in many ways. The other was a horse girl who had once helped him. But both of them clearly understood now that the only person who might truly get through to him was Tōjō Hana.
"In truth, you could do it yourself."
"But I…" Tōjō Hana paused, then forced herself to say it. "I'm too tired."
The woman who had always been strong finally admitted her own fragility. Even without opening his eyes, Shinji could almost see the exhaustion on her face.
She was truly asking for his help. She laid bare before him the helplessness she felt in her dwindling ability to train her girls.
Shinji opened his eyes, then turned his face away.
"I can't help her."
"You can."
"I could have."
His voice had softened. Tōjō Hana caught that at once, and her expression darkened.
She understood now. This time, he was telling the truth.
If he had not already given that Evernight Pendant to Seshūshū, he might still have had a way. He would not even have needed to take Narita Brian into his team. Simply by gifting the item, he could have greatly eased the burden on Brian's body and helped Tōjō Hana continue training her.
But now, he had no way to help Tōjō Hana.
And no way to help Narita Brian.
Once a horse girl signed with him, every blessing she had ever received would be nullified. But the traces those blessings had left on her body would not disappear.
She would have to start almost from the beginning.
And this time, she would still be carrying all that burden.
It would be like challenging not only her body, but the very limits of her talent. Even Shinji could not say what the end result would be.
"Why?" Tōjō Hana asked quietly, still unwilling to give up.
But after seeing Shinji do nothing more than shake his head, she could only fall silent.
The spacious team room sank into stillness.
The four of them stood facing one another, but their eyes never met. For Narita Brian, this outcome was one she refused to accept. For Tazuna and Tōjō Hana, they had already done everything they could. After Tōjō Hana's honest plea, Shinji had clearly wavered.
The one he was rejecting now was not merely a horse girl from another team who already had a trainer.
He was rejecting a Triple Crown winner with five G1 victories, a horse girl who longed to return to the top.
Turning away, Tazuna finally lost the confidence she had been carrying. She looked deeply at Shinji's profile, disappointment flashing through her eyes.
That disappointment was for Narita Brian. Tazuna had spent enough time with her to understand her feelings better than most.
Of course people cared more about her former glory as a Triple Crown winner. Of course they believed she should already be satisfied.
But there had never been any rule saying that once you had gained enough honors, you ought to stop while you were ahead.
To keep climbing was, perhaps, the truest proof of the effort these girls poured into being racers.
She started toward the door of the Polaris room and lightly tugged at Tōjō Hana.
For a woman as strong-willed as Hana, to personally push her own runner into another trainer's hands, and in the process admit her own weakness, was a kind of torment.
Tazuna wanted to soothe the irritation and pain that torment had bred—
Then a hard thud rang out behind her.
She turned, her pupils shrinking.
Shinji, too, stared in shock at the horse girl kneeling on one knee before him.
Having cast aside all her pride, Narita Brian clutched tightly at his sleeve.
Shinji could not understand what it was that made the girl before him so stubborn, or so certain.
Certain that he could truly save the career that was already nearing its end.
"You know… before the Japan Cup, what the president told me…"
The sudden change in topic left Shinji unable to grasp why Brian was saying this now. But he knew only one thing: this was not how the horse girl before him should be speaking.
He tried to pull her up by the hand, only to feel the weight and strength in her resistance. Even with only the slightest force from her, he found himself unable to lift her, and could only move around to her side.
"There's long since been no training plan for me in the team anymore. I can't even find a training partner…"
Tōjō Hana lowered her head sharply.
Narita Brian was not lying. Tōjō Hana truly had long since stopped arranging any plan specifically for her. She had merely left Brian to train alongside the younger generation.
That had always been her way. She would plan out a runner's career, but once she judged that it was over, then even if that runner did not retire from the Twinkle Series, she would not continue devoting much thought to them. Strong horse girls kept appearing without end. She could not afford to waste her time on girls she believed had already lost both talent and hope.
But when Narita Brian spoke those facts aloud to Shinji in this posture, Tōjō Hana still felt a sharp pain stab through her chest.
This horse girl was not just anyone.
She was a Triple Crown winner, once one of Japan's brightest stars.
She had been Tōjō Hana's most trusted runner in those days.
No one else had come close.
[Shinji, calm down!] the system cried urgently, sensing something. [Narita Brian's blessings were incredibly strong. Once those are removed, her ability will crash tremendously.]
[She isn't just challenging the blessings of the Three Goddesses. She's fighting against time itself, and against everyone time has already defeated!]
The system's alarm was unmistakable.
But a dark red glimmer surfaced in Shinji's eyes. He seemed to have made up his mind.
He slowly crouched down.
The horse girl before him bit down hard enough to keep her tears from falling. He could see the muscles in her cheeks twitch with the effort, and so he took a slow breath.
"If you sign with me, then everything starts over," he said. "And this time, it won't be as smooth as it once was for you. You'll be carrying all the burden left behind by those blessings, and walking the road you once walked all over again."
Narita Brian did not fully understand.
But she heard the weight in his voice.
And slowly, a smile bloomed on her face.
That smile was broken, yet resolute.
For her, there had never been another choice.
Shinji understood the look on her face.
Then he rose and walked over to Tōjō Hana.
The woman who had once looked after him so much only raised her head once he was standing in front of her. Her forced smile made him press his lips together.
For a moment, he did not know how to begin.
"Tomorrow," Tōjō Hana said first, "come with us to the student council and complete the transfer."
She was the one to speak first. The woman who had once stood so straight suddenly seemed to have aged several years at once. Even her back had begun to bend.
Shinji did not answer immediately.
Only after she looked at him for a long time did he finally nod.
"I understand."
"Hana…"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 138)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
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