Bathed in moonlight, Narita Brian lifted her head and looked up. Beyond the brilliant moon hung a vast sea of stars, clustered around it like attendants.
Their reflected light shimmered in her eyes.
It was a beautiful sight, though there was no one nearby to appreciate it.
Sweat ran in lines down both sides of her face, dripping from her chin. She wiped at it again with her sleeve, already soaked through.
It did nothing.
If anything, it only made her feel more uncomfortable.
Staggering, she made her way over to the railing and lowered her gaze to her trembling legs.
They hurt.
That was the only clear thing left.
Narita Brian's eyes darkened.
There probably hadn't been any improvement at all.
She could no longer tell whether she was getting better, or by how much. All the pain in her legs told her was that she needed to stop and rest.
Back in that ill-fated generation, she had stood above the rest, but she had never been someone spared misfortune entirely. She had suffered through injuries before. She knew exactly what it meant.
And that was why she also knew that her body could not endure another serious injury.
But…
Could a body that had somehow managed to avoid breaking again still support her all the way back to where she had once stood?
Weakly, Narita Brian lowered herself onto the grass.
Mud mixed into the turf quickly stained her skirt, but she did not care. Leaning against one of the short posts beneath the railing for support, she let herself rest.
If the fatigue and drowsiness overtook her here and now, that would not be so bad.
Maybe getting a fever and taking a few days off to sort out her feelings would even be a good thing.
Her gaze began to lose focus.
Sleep rolled over her in waves, and though her fingers twitched as if trying to resist, that effort lasted only a moment.
Then—
"What are you doing?"
The voice in front of her jolted Narita Brian awake.
Her eyes lifted.
Shinji stood there, his expression stern.
It was the first time she had ever seen him this angry.
Angry because of her.
The fury hidden beneath his calm looked like magma trapped under a volcano, ready to erupt at any second. She could feel that tension under the surface, and so she lowered her head.
"You snuck off to train more?"
His voice was flat.
Her clothes were soaked through, the thin shirt clinging tightly enough that the color of her bra showed faintly beneath.
"Purple?"
[Negative Emotion +50]
[Supplement: She's got good taste. Purple has character.]
Shut up.
In his head, Shinji rolled his eyes.
In front of him, Narita Brian's face turned bright red. She hurriedly covered her chest with both hands.
"Pervert…"
The word came out tiny and weak.
She knew she was in the wrong, so even her accusation lacked force. She sounded like someone who wanted to protest, but knew she had no standing to do it.
Shinji pressed his lips together and gave her a completely serious nod.
"So your extra training didn't improve anything, then?"
The words hit her like a blade.
That was the thing Narita Brian had been most afraid of, and he had said it aloud with merciless clarity. She had no idea how Shinji could tell whether she had improved or not, but she trusted him. He was the trainer who had already carried Offside Trap and Saint Halo to such heights.
[Negative Emotion +90]
Her head lowered again.
Then Shinji bent down and suddenly caught her by the chin, forcing her face up.
"Look at me, Narita Brian."
For an instant, her eyes lost focus.
That dazed, wavering look made Shinji pause too.
She shifted her gaze away. He slowly let go.
"Don't forget what your name is."
At those words, something inside Narita Brian snapped.
So many people in the past had said similar things to her.
Toujou Hana, talking about the victories she ought to win.
Symboli Rudolf, talking about what she ought to do for the academy and the student council.
Air Groove, talking about the things she ought to learn.
All because she was Narita Brian.
And now this trainer—this man she had come to trust more and more, the man beside whom she had begun to feel even smaller—had said the same thing at the exact moment she was most lost and fragile.
[Negative Emotion +100]
Shinji showed no reaction.
He simply looked at her, calm to the point of coldness, watching as she abruptly raised her head, fire burning in her eyes.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm only reminding you that this was your choice. I'm telling you to understand yourself first."
Narita Brian froze.
Then the fury vanished from her face entirely.
She stared at him blankly.
In that moment, she almost looked cute.
Shinji sat down beside her.
The clean fabric of his trousers touched the ground and was stained with dirt almost instantly, just like her skirt had been. Narita Brian wanted to stop him, but before she could speak, he was already seated at her side.
"So," he said, "talk to me. What happened?"
She heard the question.
But she did not answer.
If it was only because she had broken down over seeing that no one wanted the Narita Brian plush in the claw machine, then that would make a former Triple Crown champion seem unbearably childish.
"And if you don't say anything," Shinji went on, "then I'll never know, and that means a wall will grow between us. Right?"
He had no idea where that line had come from, but he knew it would work on her.
And it did.
The moment he said there would be a wall between them, her ears shot upright and she turned to him at once.
He lifted a brow and met her gaze evenly.
No matter what, he needed to know what was going on.
"I just… felt like I'm not liked anymore," she said at last. "And that puts a lot of pressure on me."
She chose her words carefully, trying to reproduce what she had actually felt back then.
Maybe that was not all it was.
The truth was, she was not even sure she cared that much about being popular. That uncertainty was exactly why she felt so lost. Even in that moment, she still could not clearly read her own heart.
"That's normal, isn't it?" Shinji said bluntly. "Only Uma Musume who get results earn people's admiration and attention. If I'm being honest, you are part of the past now."
The words were cruel in their clarity.
Narita Brian flinched.
"But right now, you're fighting to become part of the future."
That single sentence stopped everything she had been about to say.
She stared at his profile.
Looking up at the sky, Shinji carried a strange kind of presence about him, and she felt herself drawn in despite everything.
"Do you still want to keep going?"
"Keep going with what?"
She asked the question on instinct, only to see him stand and point toward the track in front of them.
Narita Brian's eyes widened.
Looks like you understand your own condition now."
She did.
Of course she did.
The man was still unhappy about her secretly coming here to train on her own, especially when she knew full well the state of her body and her history with injuries.
"I know…"
Narita Brian could tell exactly what he meant.
Her trainer was right.
Still, the memories that had been rolling around inside her came surging back all at once. She stood up too, but her legs failed her, and she pitched forward into his chest.
The outline beneath her drenched shirt was exposed again, but this time Shinji did not avert his gaze.
He watched her eyes, waiting for her to continue.
His breath was warm.
Her fingers tightened unconsciously around his arm, as though she were using that grip to steady herself. And because of that, she did not back away from the embrace she found herself selfishly reluctant to leave.
"I just…"
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 180)
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 (Chapter260)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter135)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (This matter is completely finished.)
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 240
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 210
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 280
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 260
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 130
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 155
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 120
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 135
My Harem Is Indescribable 105
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 110
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 110
Still playing traditional Honk 91
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 95
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 90
Checking In in Demon Slayer 95
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 105
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 100
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 85
Why did they assign me to Uma 80
MYGO Beauties 75
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 80
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 90
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 105
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 65
The Uma Musume Who Became 70
I'm Definitely Not the King of 85
After Maxing Out Every Class 85
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 44
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 70
I, the Elden Sword Saint 60
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 60
No One Knows Pokémon Better 55
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 55
From Trilobites to Titans 55
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 66
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 70
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 50
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin