A secluded corner of Tracen Academy.
Grass Wonder slowly pushed herself up from the ground. She looked a little disheveled from the tumble just now, and a trace of blood had spilled from the corner of her mouth, but her expression remained perfectly calm.
Opposite her, Special Week stood at Kitahara's side, silently staring at Grass Wonder. Her face was clouded over, and her eyes burned with fury.
What a miscalculation...
Looking at the clearly half-crazed Special Week in front of her, Grass Wonder's face stayed calm, but she couldn't help feeling a flicker of regret.
The truth was, Special Week hadn't found this place because she was especially good at searching.
Grass Wonder had deliberately leaked information to her and lured her here.
Originally, Grass Wonder had known there was no way Kitahara would go all the way with her, so she'd figured that since it wouldn't succeed anyway, she might as well call Special Week over and provoke her. If Special Week couldn't hold back and stepped in to stop them, Grass Wonder could at least use the chance to make her squirm a little.
What she hadn't expected was for Special Week to attack outright.
This was trouble...
Watching Special Week's dark expression as she advanced step by step, Grass Wonder's own face gradually turned serious.
Grass Wonder was strong enough to rank near the top even in all of Tracen. Otherwise, she never would have been assigned to serve as Kitahara's bodyguard not long after entering the academy last year.
The problem was that, as a Yamato Nadeshiko, she was never going to train in things like boxing or free fighting—combat techniques that clashed far too badly with her sense of feminine grace.
Her combat ability wasn't poor, but most of her skill points had been invested in the sword. Without a weapon in hand, her fighting power dropped sharply.
And more than that, recently—whether because of True Awakening or something else—Special Week's strength had been increasing at a shockingly fast rate, far beyond the normal pace for an Umamusume. It had even drawn the school doctor's attention.
As for Grass Wonder, she had no blade, her style leaned toward technique and agility, and she'd already been badly hurt by that opening punch. Pain was still tearing through her body; her ribs might well have been broken. No matter how one looked at it, she had no chance of winning.
But that wasn't even the real problem.
Special Week might not realize it now, having lost her reason to rage, but Grass Wonder was sure that once she calmed down, she would absolutely regret what she was doing now.
No matter who won or lost, a fight like this was already bad enough. It was the kind of tactic where both sides lost.
Especially since they were doing this right in front of Kitahara. Even if nothing came of it, it would still destroy their standing with him.
And if something really did happen, then not only would both of them be out of the running romantically, they might not even get to continue their lives at the academy. They might never get another chance to see Kitahara again.
This was trouble...
Watching Special Week walk toward her step by step, Grass Wonder forced herself to stay upright and said nothing.
And then—
BANG!
When the distance between them had narrowed to just a few steps, Special Week stomped off the ground and lunged at Grass Wonder like a beast, her fist raised high before crashing down—
BANG!
With that blow, the pale gray stone railing shattered on impact.
Grass Wonder had barely dodged in time, and looking at the broken railing Special Week had smashed apart, she had no doubt what that punch would have done if it had landed on her.
But before she could think further, Special Week, seeing that her punch had missed, snapped her head up and reached straight down to the section of railing she had just broken. She tore off two chunks of stone post with her bare hands and hurled them at Grass Wonder.
Whoosh—
The pale gray stone columns screamed past Grass Wonder's face, the wind from them sharp enough to slice off several strands of her hair.
And before the stone even hit the ground, Special Week leapt at her again and raised her fist once more.
Facing Special Week's second charge, Grass Wonder's expression remained calm.
Special Week's physical advantages were what they were. In these circumstances, beating her would be difficult. But Special Week had never properly trained in hand-to-hand combat, so with Grass Wonder's reflexes and ability, stalling for time was not hard.
And as long as she could drag this out for a while—long enough for some of the anger in Special Week's heart to burn off and for her to regain a little reason—then Grass Wonder could stabilize the situation and find some way to smooth things over with Kitahara afterward.
So when Special Week came at her, Grass Wonder did not panic in the slightest. She calmly dodged the incoming punch again and prepared to retreat.
But at that moment, perhaps having learned from the last exchange, Special Week did not put her full strength into the swing this time. The instant she realized she had missed, she regained her balance, then used the opening in Grass Wonder's evasive movement to ram an elbow toward her.
It had to be said—Special Week's reaction with that elbow strike was fast, and her speed was excellent. An ordinary Umamusume might have been able to see it coming, but still failed to avoid it.
But Grass Wonder reacted the instant Special Week moved. And the moment she reacted, she moved as well, turning sideways to evade the strike cleanly—
Crack.
Just as Grass Wonder dodged and was about to retreat again to keep stalling, a crisp sound came from the spot where she had already been hit before.
Then a surge of pain exploded through her, her consciousness blurred for an instant, and by the time she realized what had happened, she was already on the ground.
And Special Week had reset her stance and raised her fist at her again.
Grass Wonder tried to dodge, but the worsening injury meant her body could no longer keep up with her mind. She knew perfectly well what she should do, but in the end, all she could do was watch that fist descend.
Am I going to die?
Staring at the falling fist, Grass Wonder felt as though time had frozen. Everything around her seemed to slow to a crawl.
Honestly, she didn't know whether that punch would kill her.
But judging from the force with which Special Week had shattered that stone post earlier, even if she didn't die, things wouldn't end well if that punch came down on her.
And yet, for some reason, even faced with a life-or-death crisis, the first person Grass Wonder thought of was not herself.
It was Kitahara, standing off to the side.
If she died, he would be sad, wouldn't he?
She knew she had brought this on herself, to some extent. But this had happened right in front of him. The girls he cared about were tearing each other apart before his eyes.
Especially later—if she died, and if he ever learned the full reason behind all this—given his personality, he probably wouldn't blame her for bringing it on herself.
He would more likely blame himself for not realizing sooner, for not stopping this before it reached this point.
And as for Special Week...
Looking at the fierce, beastlike Special Week in front of her, Grass Wonder found that, somehow, even though this girl was about to kill her, she still could not feel even the slightest anger toward her.
If anything, she felt guilty.
Because thinking about it carefully, Special Week had never really done anything to wrong her.
And she really had treated her as a friend.
It was Grass Wonder herself who had been too self-righteous, who had kept making one wrong choice after another, escalating the conflict between them bit by bit until it had become this.
And even though all of this had been caused by her own selfishness—while Special Week had only ever been dragged along passively—the consequences of this punch would still be borne by Special Week. It might even ruin the rest of her life.
Grass Wonder would die.
Special Week would bear the consequences.
And Kitahara would shoulder a burden of guilt that should never have belonged to him.
A loss for all three of them, brought about only by her own self-importance.
"...I'm sorry."
Facing death, Grass Wonder felt no fear at all.
She only looked at the person before her, said those words almost unconsciously, and slowly closed her eyes.
But unfortunately, it was too late.
If she had understood sooner—if she had said those words sooner—then perhaps things might still have turned around.
But now, Special Week had already gone mad enough that she couldn't hear a word Grass Wonder said. Acting on pure instinct, she clenched her hand into a fist and drove it down toward that hateful face in front of her.
BANG!
The dull impact echoed through the corner.
But the pain Grass Wonder expected never came.
And when she opened her eyes and saw what stood before her, she froze.
"...Trainer Kitahara?"
"Yeah. It's me."
Standing in front of Grass Wonder, Kitahara spoke in a calm voice.
"Good thing I made it in time. A second later, and something really bad might have happened."
At the same moment, over on the other side, Special Week finally calmed down after realizing Kitahara had blocked her punch. As understanding dawned on her, panic slowly filled her eyes.
Wait... what had she just done?
Not only had she completely exposed that frenzied, brutal side of herself in front of Sota-san, she had almost killed Grass—and now she had even attacked Sota-san too...
And while the two Umamusume fell silent for entirely different reasons, Kitahara, seeing that Special Week had stopped, thought for a moment and then directly pulled out a bottle of concentrated stamina potion from the system in front of them both. After opening it, he brought it to Grass Wonder's lips.
"You're hurt. Don't move yet. Drink some of this first."
After what had just happened, Grass Wonder's mind was a complete tangle, and her body didn't feel fully under her control.
But for some reason, the moment she heard Kitahara's instructions, her body responded at once. She obediently stayed where she was and leaned forward to take a few small sips from the potion he was offering her.
"Good. That's it..."
Seeing her listen so obediently, Kitahara rewarded her with a gentle pat on the head. After observing her for a moment and confirming that her body had started recovering and there didn't seem to be any other serious problem, he turned to look at Special Week.
"Um, Sota-san, I..."
The Special Week who had looked like a wild beast moments ago now seemed as pitiful as a small animal about to be abandoned. Her expression was panicked beyond words, and there was already a shimmer of tears gathering in her eyes.
She was truly panicking.
She looked close to crying.
Yes, Grass Wonder had provoked her first. But honestly speaking, that kind of thing was just a normal part of trying to steal a march on someone. And the fact that Grass Wonder had called her here in the first place meant she probably hadn't intended to take things any further.
But on Special Week's side, that provocation had detonated all the emotions she had been bottling up.
Not only had she exposed the other side of herself that she had always kept hidden, she had attacked Grass right in front of Kitahara. And if Kitahara hadn't stopped her, she might really have killed Grass...
Forget how Kitahara would see her—at this point, Special Week herself was starting to doubt who she was, and had no idea how she was supposed to face either Kitahara or Grass Wonder after this.
But just as she stood there in a panic, even wanting to flee, Kitahara rose to his feet, reached out, and pulled her into his arms, patting her lightly.
"There, there. Our adorable Special Week is a good girl, so you don't need to worry, and you don't need to be afraid either. I'm right here with you..."
The embrace, the gentle pats, the soothing words.
With each of Kitahara's actions, the panic in Special Week's heart gradually eased, and little by little, she buried her face into his chest.
"Sota-san, I didn't mean to. I really didn't. I never wanted to hurt you or Grass..."
"Mm. I believe you."
As he said that, Kitahara shifted his gaze toward Grass Wonder, who had already recovered considerably on the ground, and held out a hand to pull her to her feet.
"Feeling better?" He asked.
Grass Wonder nodded. She was just about to say something when Kitahara gestured with his hand.
"Come here first."
With that, Kitahara carried Special Week over to a nearby spot and sat down, and after only a moment's hesitation, Grass Wonder sat down beside him.
Once they were seated, Kitahara spoke again.
"Spe, Grass, I know there's been some friction between you two, and I can more or less guess how things ended up like this..."
At those words, even Special Week, still in his arms, couldn't help lifting her head. The panic in her eyes deepened. Beside them, Grass Wonder's expression also tightened the instant she heard it.
Had he finally realized?
Then again, after how they had both acted, it would have been stranger if he still hadn't noticed. It wasn't like there was anything wrong with his brain...
But just as those thoughts crossed their minds, Kitahara slowly added his next sentence.
"But I have to say—this is a misunderstanding."
...A misunderstanding?
Both Grass Wonder and Special Week froze. For a moment, they genuinely couldn't understand what he was saying.
Thankfully, Kitahara did not keep them guessing. After saying that, he quickly explained.
"First, Spe."
Kitahara looked down at Special Week in his arms. Stroking her head, he spoke softly.
"Grass wasn't attacking me just now. It was just... well, anyway, we weren't fighting, so you really don't need to worry."
"...Huh?"
Special Week blinked, and her mind went blank for an instant.
Then Kitahara turned to Grass Wonder, and there was a trace more helplessness in his eyes.
"And as for you, Grass... I really do think what you did was a little inappropriate. Even if it was a rebound or some kind of revenge, it still wasn't a good idea..."
"...Huh?"
Grass Wonder's body stiffened slightly, and then she too fell silent.
What was he talking about?
But after a moment, watching Kitahara's expression, Grass Wonder gradually managed to sort out the logic in his head, and her own expression turned rather complicated.
This man... was he seriously thinking she had just done that either to get back at Special Week, or because she was using him as a rebound?
And that he'd mistaken Special Week for some clueless little child who thought Grass Wonder was attacking him, which was why she had lashed out...?
Very soon, Grass Wonder's guess was confirmed.
Because over the time that followed, perhaps taking Special Week's stunned silence as a sign that she hadn't understood, Kitahara repeatedly stressed to her that Grass Wonder straddling him earlier had not been an attempt to beat him up, but had happened for other reasons.
And after listening to this long enough, Special Week gradually came back to herself. Looking at the man in front of her, even her gaze began turning rather complicated.
But unlike Grass Wonder, even though her expression had grown subtle, the brutal side of herself had still been completely exposed in front of Kitahara. So even if the whole matter had now been misunderstood into something else, Special Week still couldn't feel at ease.
"Um... Sota-san... aren't you afraid of me?" She asked carefully.
"Why would I be afraid of you?"
Kitahara asked in return.
"Because... I hit Grass. I almost killed her. And I attacked you too, Sota-san..."
Special Week's voice grew softer and softer.
But hearing that, Kitahara only smiled, laid a hand on her head, and gently ruffled her hair.
"But you were trying to protect me, weren't you? And from beginning to end, you never once tried to attack me. The moment I stepped in to block you, you snapped back to your senses immediately. If I was going to be afraid of you even after that, then I really wouldn't know what there'd be left in this world worth trusting."
"But..."
"There's no 'but,' Spe."
Still stroking her hair, Kitahara spoke seriously.
"You're a good girl. I've always believed that."
"So don't doubt yourself either, okay?"
Silence.
Gazing at the face before her, so full of concern, Special Week stayed frozen for quite a while before finally coming back to herself and nodding gently.
"Okay."
Once he was done with Special Week, Kitahara turned toward Grass Wonder.
"Grass, you might not want to hear this, but I think that even though Spe was in the wrong too, you bear a lot of responsibility here. You even owe her an apology."
Kitahara's logic ran like this: Grass Wonder had been pushing Spe too hard before, then lately she'd kept playing pranks on her like an elementary school boy, and now, after getting upset, she had come running to him and pinned him down—whether to take revenge or use him as a rebound, he wasn't sure—which had led to this whole misunderstanding.
So even though, in terms of this incident alone, Grass Wonder was clearly the victim, taking her earlier behavior into account, even if it had been impulsive love-driven nonsense, she still owed Spe an apology.
Honestly, she probably owed him one too.
He had come here out of pure brotherly loyalty, trying to help her work through her emotions. And then while he was comforting her, she'd turned around and pinned him down.
No matter how one looked at it, that was weird. It was practically the Tracen version of the farmer and the snake.
Still, after thinking it over, Kitahara decided that since nothing had actually happened in the end... and since, if Special Week hadn't intervened, he had been preparing to do something himself, he'd let the apology to him slide out of consideration for their bond, and just have her apologize to Special Week.
That said, Kitahara hadn't really expected a single sentence from him to be enough to persuade Grass Wonder. He had already prepared what he was going to say next, planning to talk to her properly after she refused.
But—
"I'm sorry, Spe."
Looking at Special Week in Kitahara's arms, Grass Wonder spoke with a serious expression and a solemn tone.
"I really have been in the wrong these past days. I caused trouble for both you and Trainer Kitahara, and I'm truly sorry."
Not just Kitahara—even Special Week, still in his arms, froze at Grass Wonder's sudden apology.
Special Week knew what Grass Wonder was like. If she believed she wasn't in the wrong, then even with a gun to her head, she wouldn't yield the slightest bit, let alone pretend.
Lowly girl or not, in certain matters, Grass Wonder still had her own bottom line.
"Grass..."
Looking at Grass Wonder apologizing so earnestly, Special Week—who had already felt guilty and even a little shaken after attacking her so viciously just now—felt something tremble softly in her chest.
She had been furious at Grass Wonder this whole time, yes.
But that was precisely because she had always regarded Grass Wonder as a friend. That was why Grass Wonder's "betrayal" had been harder for her to accept than anyone else's would have been.
And now she had made a mistake too—a serious one—but Grass Wonder not only showed no intention of blaming her, she had even apologized first...
"Actually... I wasn't good either."
Faced with Grass Wonder's apology, Special Week lowered her head and spoke softly.
"If we were friends, then I should have paid more attention to how you felt too. But before this, I kept thinking it was enough as long as I was happy. I hardly ever considered your feelings..."
Well now, that's an unexpected bonus.
Listening to Special Week's words and sensing the change in atmosphere between the two girls, the corners of Kitahara's mouth slowly lifted.
It had been a misunderstanding, but by sheer accident, it seemed to have untied the knot in these two kids' hearts...
Hm. Speaking of which, should he leave now?
From the look of it, these two probably needed to say some things from the heart, and if he stayed here as an outsider, wouldn't that be a little inconvenient...?
Thinking that, Kitahara used the excuse that he still had some things to do and asked to take his leave.
The moment she heard he was leaving, Special Week stiffened. Then she slowly lowered her head and spoke in a small voice.
"Um... there's actually something I want to apologize to you for too, Sota-san..."
Apologize to him?
Kitahara blinked, then lowered his head.
Special Week hesitated for a while, then buried her face in Kitahara's chest.
"It's just... um... actually, all this time, I've... liked..."
"The fact that you like Suzuka—we all know that already."
Grass Wonder suddenly spoke from the side, cutting Special Week off.
...What?
Interrupted by Grass Wonder, Special Week froze for a second, then turned toward her in confusion.
But seeing that confused look, Grass Wonder did not explain right away. Instead, she first turned to Kitahara and spoke softly.
"Trainer Kitahara, there are some rather private things I'd like to discuss with Spe..."
"I get it, I get it."
The moment he heard that, Kitahara immediately understood. He promptly pulled out a pair of earphones, put them on, started playing music, and then gestured for the two of them to go ahead.
Then, after confirming that Kitahara could no longer hear them, Grass Wonder pulled Special Week aside and leaned close to whisper in her ear.
"Don't confess right now. If he gets his guard up, it'll become much harder for you to do anything later..."
Blushing, Special Week hesitated for a while before speaking slowly.
"But... I don't want to lie to him anymore..."
"When have you ever lied to him?"
Grass Wonder asked in return, then added,
"You've never once said you didn't like him, have you? And the way you act around him has already been obvious enough. If he hasn't noticed, that's his problem. How can that count as you lying to him?"
Hearing that, Special Week stared blankly for a while. It felt like something about that logic was strange, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what.
After a brief silence, she slowly raised her head.
"Then, Grass... what are you planning to do?"
"Of course I have a plan."
Grass Wonder returned to her usual composure and smiled.
"But before that, let me be clear—I have no intention of withdrawing. But if you don't mind, then I'm willing to join forces with you. Not just now, either. In the future as well."
At first, Special Week didn't quite grasp what Grass Wonder meant. But once it clicked, her eyes widened slightly.
"Wait, Grass, you mean—"
"Shh."
Grass Wonder raised a finger to her lips, then continued in her usual tone.
"I'm sure you've already considered this possibility. With Eclipse-san around, I refuse to believe you haven't."
"But... Grass, don't you hate that sort of thing...?"
Special Week asked, confused.
"With his personality, and with the current situation, do you really think a one-on-one ending is possible?"
Glancing sideways at Kitahara, Grass Wonder let out a quiet sigh.
"So whether we hate it or not, that's already the reality. Our only choices are to bow out entirely—or accept everything."
"I'm choosing the latter. And I believe you are too."
"In that case, if I have to accept sharing him with someone, then I would rather share that with you, because..."
Meeting Special Week's eyes directly, Grass Wonder spoke slowly.
"We're friends, aren't we?"
Friends...
After hearing Grass Wonder out, Special Week fell silent for a while, then slowly nodded in agreement.
But very soon, she looked up again in puzzlement.
"But what does that have to do with stopping me from confessing to him?"
"Of course it has to do with it."
Grass Wonder smiled, then leaned close to Special Week's ear again and whispered in a low voice.
"This misunderstanding is our advantage. With a few small moves, we can..."
The whispering continued. No one knew what exactly they said.
Only Kitahara, glancing at them from the corner of his eye, gradually relaxed.
Just as he'd thought.
They really were both good girls...
---
T/N: IM SO FUCKING RAGEBAITED AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH KITAHARA YOU YOU YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
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