However, the cheers from Tracen Academy's training ground and the school-wide announcement of Mejiro McQueen's victory and her obtainment of the title "Best Uma Musume of Tracen Academy's new generation" was contrasted by the deserted scene outside, where an Uma Musume was slowly walking away from the scene.
It was Meisho Doto who was currently distancing herself from the commotion, the stage where the victors rise and the losers set, and, with her head down, she quietly made her way to a very secluded corner of Tracen Academy.
This was a place where Doto and many others often came alone; located near a teaching facility was a hollowed-out tree stump—a hole where many Uma Musume, frustrated by race failures, would often let out angry roars to vent their anger and dissatisfaction.
Doto now found herself there, silently facing the hollowed-out hole, her lips slightly parted as if she wanted to say something.
"I…"
I lost, I lost to Mejiro McQueen... It feels so frustrating, but I'll definitely win next time—these were the lines Doto had prepared before coming here.
A very ordinary, yet earnest wish; Uma Musume are beings who wholeheartedly pursue victory, and although Doto failed this time with a third-place finish, the gap between her and Mejiro McQueen was not as large as she imagined; she still had a chance to win next time.
At least, that's what she should have thought, but… "Drip."
"Ugh—" Tears still fell uncontrollably from her eyes. Doto gritted her teeth, her expression as soft as a lamb, yet stubbornly refusing to cry out loud, as if it were her last shred of dignity.
"—Doto?"
Behind Meisho Doto, Wada, who had noticed something was amiss since Doto lost, immediately followed Meisho Doto out of the track and stepped forward, interrupting Doto's crying.
He was a little worried that this unconfident Uma Musume girl might be thinking too much; after all, he had seen the hollowed-out tree stump in front of her, and it looked very deep… "T- Trainer…" (T/N: Well that got dark quickly)
Doto also noticed Wada's voice immediately, and as she instinctively turned around, she realized her extremely disheveled appearance at the moment, so she quickly turned her head back and covered her face completely with both hands.
"P- please don't look at me now, I- I beg you…"
"I- I don't want Trainer to see me looking so pathetic… so please… don't look at me now…"
A nearly pleading tone came from Doto's mouth, yet the more she said so, the more Wada felt he couldn't leave; this child needed his guidance now, and if he let her dwell on her negative thoughts alone, she might fall into an inescapable hole of self-pity.
Speaking of which, this was the first time Wada had encountered a situation where he had to comfort a Racehorse after a race… After all, Wada used to ride T.M. Opera O, and even if T.M. Opera O lost, he wouldn't cause trouble; a good-tempered Racehorse was just that easy to handle.
Now, in this world, after losing a race, not only was the Trainer disheartened, but the Uma Musume themselves had a high chance to be even more dismayed than the Trainer; at this point, Wada had no time for self-reflections; the priority was to quickly stabilize Doto's emotions.
Wada slowly walked to Doto's side, silently taking her shoulders with both hands, allowing her to face him directly.
At this moment, Doto slowly lowered her hands; her tear-reddened eyes, with a hint of dullness and confusion, looked up at Wada, and the next moment, she only felt a warm hand placed on her head.
"—This race, it was my fault, Doto. I focused too much on Mejiro McQueen, to the extent that I completely forgot about the threat Tokai Teio posed."
Wada was not good at comforting people, let alone a young and emotional Uma Musume like Doto. But he was extremely good at self-reflection and taking all the blame himself, as he had done it many times before in the past.
Who told him to be so incompetent back then? Thus, he was used to reflecting on what he did wrong as well. To redirect all the blame to himself, he slightly adapted his good ol' self-reflection speech to comfort Doto.
"Doto, my shortcomings caused your poor performance; this time it's all my fault, but I hope that you can still trust me one more time. I will definitely make you win next time." (T/N: Bro thinks he is Ahab the way he's blaming everything on a single thing)
"—No, it's not!"
However, to his surprise, Doto's eyes widened slightly upon hearing this, and she quickly shook her head, saying:
"T- Trainer is the best! Before the mock race, you had already planned everything for me! Trainer didn't let me just focus on Mejiro McQueen, you also told me to pay attention to Tokai Teio; Tokai Teio is the favorite to win, Trainer even said so!"
"I- it was Tokai Teio's surge that made me panic, i- it has nothing to do with Trainer!"
"I- it's me… I'm the problem... I was the one who got scared, I'm too timid, I'm too useless, I… I'm hopeless as an Uma Musume…"
As she spoke, Doto's tears fell again, looking utterly pathetic, and Wada was at a loss for words; accustomed to self-reflection, this was the first time he had encountered someone else who took all the blame themselves when he was also self-reflecting.
One could only say that Wada, due to his past experiences, was outwardly humble but inwardly insecure. However, Meisho Doto's personality was almost identical to Wada's; perhaps she was even more insecure than him... So what should he do? Should Wada just bow and thank her? Let her take all the blame for him this time?
The two were at a stalemate for a long time, neither of them speaking first, and it was unclear how much later, Wada heard Doto, with her head bowed, say in a muffled voice:
"T- Trainer… sure enough… I'm not qualified to be your Uma Musume…"
"I… I'm too useless… Trainer Wada, you should have a better, stronger, and more competent Uma Musume than me; wasting time on a hopeless Uma Musume like me, I…"
As she spoke, Doto's hand trembled slightly as she took out a neatly folded but wrinkled piece of paper from her pocket, slowly unfolded it, and handed it to Wada. It was precisely the contract they had signed in the Student Council's office.
"...Doto?"
"I- I don't have the courage to break the contract, so please, Trainer, you do it…"
Doto hated her weakness immensely; she even wanted Wada to be the "bad guy" who broke the contract, but she truly didn't have the courage to tear up the agreement.
If she were to tear up the agreement with her own hands, she would feel such heartache that she would want to harm herself. Because every day after they signed it, Doto felt a sense of fulfillment and joy she had never experienced before, and even she, who was usually unlucky and clumsy, hadn't encountered any misfortunes. (T/N: She was really gonna jump into that tree stump huh...)
These were the happiest times of her life, yet she had let down the person she least wanted to disappoint.
"During this time with Trainer, I- I was very happy."
"F- for a useless Uma Musume like me to be so highly regarded by you, I am truly overjoyed; I will never forget this time we spent together."
Doto bowed at almost 90 degrees, holding the agreement with both hands and presenting it to Wada. Her tears still fell uncontrollably, and the agreement in her hands felt like a sweet poison to her, making her feel like dying yet unwilling to let go.
However, Wada looked at the agreement Doto presented to him, as if an erring employee had voluntarily submitted their resignation. In his heart, besides feeling sad for this child, there was also a hint of… amusement? As if reminiscing about something funny.
"...Doto, you really remind me of my old self."
"...Huh?"
Wada's inexplicable remark made Doto pause slightly. Then, she saw that Wada didn't take the agreement; instead, he knelt down to a height where Doto, still bowed, could see him, maintaining eye level with Doto, and chuckled softly:
"You, like this, suddenly make me see how my former self was like. I now understand a little how ridiculous and pathetic I must have appeared in front of others back then."
"And I wasn't even as good-looking as you, Doto; I was truly pathetic back then, couldn't even get extra pity points for my appearance."
"T- Trainer…"
However, Wada's teasing words made Doto's cheeks flush slightly. She didn't think she was particularly good-looking… After all, almost all Uma Musume were quite attractive; at the very least, they were delicate and pretty.
But Doto considered her body to have no advantages; it was even too plump for racing… Since elementary school, many girls had made fun of her developing chest, causing her to lack confidence in her appearance as well…
"However, I want to tell you that growth, of course, has a process. Those who are born as geniuses are few; most people, like us, stumble and repeatedly fail—but I have always believed that repeated failure is indispensable in ensuring that we can continue moving forwards."
Wada gently wiped away the tears around Doto's eyes and smiled faintly:
"Doto, I wasn't that outstanding from the beginning either… though I'm also not outstanding now, either."
"I am just a stumbling, mediocre, and useless Trainer. I broke many promises I should have never broken, and I have let down people I should have never let down… all because of my own mediocrity and incompetence."
"So this time, I have high hopes for you, Doto; you are not just running for yourself on the track. I have also entrusted my struggles, my efforts, and my stubborn unwillingness to give up, all to you."
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Wada and Doto are really just two Ahabs trying to gaslight each other into thinking that they are the problem,
Wada: The fault lies with me!
Doto: No! The fault lies with ME!
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.