That was a brilliant race.
The moment she stepped off the track, the Trainer's frivolous voice rang in her ears.
Are you serious?
You know exactly how bad that race was.
Of course. A little raw, but you showed your quality. In all my years, I've never seen better under the circumstances.
He sounded genuinely impressed, missing her sarcasm entirely.
If that's a compliment, I'll take it. So, what's on your mind?
Legend folded her arms and shot the question back.
A-hem!
The Trainer cleared his throat, straightened his shirt, and in a rare serious tone declared, "Miss Legend, I'm the Trainer of Team Spica, and I formally invite you to join us!"
"But I refuse! My favorite thing is telling self-important people NO!"
Favorite line, check—twice.
"Hey! That's not how the script goes!" His solemn act lasted three seconds before collapsing. "Aren't you supposed to say 'It's my honor'?"
"Seriously, what Horse Girl joins some random sketchy Trainer on the spot? Why would I?"
"Uh, well…"
"And you expect to snag a talented Uma Musume for free? Dream on." She inspected her nails, utterly bored.
"…So what are you saying?" He finally caught on.
"Want the Horse Girl to run but not to eat? Even capitalists aren't that cruel."
"…"
Silence. The Trainer's off-duty EQ finally kicked in; he understood.
Mourning the imminent death of his wallet, he rubbed his hands and flashed an ingratiating smile.
"Beautiful lady, may I have the honor of dining with you?"
"Perfect!" Legend beamed. "Lead the way, Trainer-kun."
…After an expensive but delicious dinner, she cheerfully completed the team entry paperwork.
On the sunset road, one human and one Horse Girl radiated opposite moods.
"Wallet-kun, why have you left me? How will I live?"
The Trainer ahead muttered, the sunset sketching perfect shadows of his grief and despair.
"Lighten up. You lost your wallet but gained a future star. That's profit."
Behind him, Legend skipped along, golden hair blazing in the sun, giddy at her free meal.
"Sigh. Until payday I'll have to drag Hana out for drinks."
He sighed.
"So, Trainer-kun, where to now?"
Legend asked. Sunset was near; no one trains at this hour.
She didn't suspect foul play—anime impressions die hard.
Besides, friend, Horse Girl physique—look it up.
"Training room. I'll show you the route and introduce your teammates."
Luckily, he had no shady intentions.
After walking a little farther, they arrived at a small cabin.
"This is our Spica training room," the Trainer said, opening the door.
Then a pair of feet planted a fierce kiss on his face, followed by that unforgettable voice.
"Little Gold Ship flying kick!"
And he sailed past Legend's eyes, crumpled on the floor, and fell silent.
"Damn Trainer, summon me then stand me up—who gave you the guts to ditch Gold Ship!"
The owner of those feet came into view: tall, white-haired, a face so pretty it was a shame her unruly stance and the cap on her head ruined the beauty, drawing a sigh.
Legend stood motionless.
She didn't understand, but she was Deep Impact.jpg.
"Oh my, you are—" the newcomer finally noticed Legend, stepping closer and narrowing her eyes.
"Um, hello?" Legend couldn't help taking a step back.
In a flash the beauty slipped behind her, buried her face in Legend's hair and, like a pervert, took a deep breath.
"This scent, this feel—it's you, Little Aunt!" the beauty shouted.
"Don't call me Little Aunt!" she yelled back on reflex.
Then, realizing what she'd done, Miss Legend finally recognized the person before her.
"You're… Golshi?"
"That's right—none other than the great Gold Ship!" Gold Ship puffed out a chest that could make a certain Mejiro young lady weep, proclaiming loudly.
Legend rubbed her temples, wearing a look of pure disbelief.
"Golshi, how did you turn into… this?"
Of course she knew what Gold Ship was like; in her past life the ones she raised most—apart from a certain Gray Mane glutton—were Gold Ships. Yet she simply couldn't connect the quiet, expressionless little girl in her memory with the alien creature in front of her.
"Well, we haven't seen each other in three years; it's only natural I've grown a bit!" Gold Ship patted Miss Legend's shoulder, looking deeply moved.
"This isn't 'a bit.' Time, you cruel thing."
Finally equating the sweet little girl in her memory with the alien horse before her, Miss Legend clutched her face in agony.
It felt like the good little kid who used to trail behind calling her big brother had come back years later as a delinquent girl.
I can't accept this!
"Don't sweat the details!" Gold Ship waved a hand, dismissing it as trivial.
"Still, I never thought I'd see you here. I messaged you on your birthday the day before yesterday, and when you didn't answer I was afraid something happened to you."
"The day before yesterday… my birthday?"
Legend suddenly remembered: the day she'd crossed over she had seen a few birthday messages on her phone, but she'd been in no mood to pay attention and had soon forgotten.
Whoever kidnapped me sure has a twisted sense of humor, dropping me into someone else's birthday.
Blaming some unknown kidnapper in her mind, Legend replied, "I had some things going on and didn't notice—sorry."
"It's fine, it's fine; you're healthy and that's all that matters." Gold Ship smiled, voice tinged with relief and excitement.
"But if you're here, does that mean you enrolled at Tracen?"
"Mm, why? Is that strange?" Legend asked, puzzled.
"Not at all—this is exactly where you belong! So you're the rookie Trainer mentioned—great! Journey Big Sister and Orfevre are going to be so jealous that I get to be on the same team as Little Aunt!"
"I said stop calling me Little Aunt! Seriously, why does Journey get to be Big Sister when we're the same generation!"
"All right, it's decided! To celebrate Little Aunt enrolling at Tracen and joining Team Spica, let's throw a party with the whole family!" Gold Ship whipped out her phone and started texting on the spot.
"Are you even listening, Golshi?" Legend sighed in resignation.
"OK, messages sent—let's go, Little Aunt!"
With that, Gold Ship grabbed Miss Legend's hand and bounded off like an excited husky.
Only a cry of "Stop calling me Little Aunt!" lingered behind.
Along with the Trainer lying motionless on the floor.