Some time later, in the infirmary at Nakayama Racecourse.
Inside the room, a middle-aged doctor sat behind his desk, studying the X-ray film in his hand.
After a moment, he gave a slight nod and looked up at the people across from him.
Across from him, Yasui Makoto sat in a chair with his left arm held in a splint and suspended from his neck in a sling.
Beside him stood Kitasan Black, her face full of worry, anxiety, and heartache.
Behind them were Tokai Teio, Deep Impact, Orfevre, Gold Ship, and Gentildonna, each wearing a different expression.
The middle-aged doctor pondered for a moment, then said, "A hairline fracture. In other words, what people usually call a minor crack in the bone."
"Generally speaking, this kind of injury is easy to get from a violent collision or blow."
"It can also happen if someone slips and falls, lands on their hand, and the force travels up through the palm into the wrist and arm."
"Repeated strain can also be one of the causes."
"But from your description..."
He paused, then looked uncertainly at Orfevre across from him.
At the same time, every Umamusume other than Yasui turned to look at Orfevre as well.
In an instant, her ears snapped flat, the fur on them bristling along with her tail, and Orfevre cried out in exasperation, "Give me a break, this time it wasn't me!
"He's not even my trainer, so why would I hit him?"
"Besides, didn't we already say this was because of her?"
Flustered and indignant, she jabbed a finger at Gentildonna.
At that, everyone's gaze shifted to Gentildonna instead. Kitasan Black's expression was especially complicated—resentment, hesitation, and confusion all mixed together.
The middle-aged doctor looked over as well. After a moment, he gave a slight nod.
"My apologies. It seems I misunderstood. During Orfevre-san's debut race, I happened to be the doctor on duty here, so..."
"I said it wasn't me!"
Orfevre cut in again, bristling with irritation, but the middle-aged doctor remained unhurried and composed.
"So I let my first impression get the better of me."
"That said, if this wasn't caused by an intentional act of violence, then I assume Gentildonna-san did it by accident?"
"I examined both of you back when you were active racers."
"If I remember right, Gentildonna-san's strength is... rather considerable?"
Looking a little embarrassed, Gentildonna cast an apologetic glance at Kitasan Black, then bowed first to her and then to Yasui.
"It really was an accident."
"That race... Doctor, you were watching the live broadcast over here, weren't you? It was so exciting that I lost control for a moment and accidentally hurt Trainer Yasui."
"Yes, I was watching. It truly was an excellent race."
A flash of excitement passed through the middle-aged doctor's eyes before he calmed again.
"Since that's the situation, treatment should be fairly straightforward."
"My recommendation is a cast for immobilization, to restrict movement in the fractured area and prevent a secondary injury."
"Along with that, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication to relieve pain and swelling, plus calcium, vitamin D, and medication that regulates bone metabolism to speed healing."
"At that rate, it should heal in roughly four to six weeks."
As he spoke, he turned to the computer beside him and began typing rapidly on the keyboard.
"At present, surgery doesn't seem necessary, though regular follow-up examinations are still important."
"For those, please go to another hospital, Yasui-san. This facility primarily provides medical care for Umamusume."
"As for the later stages of rehab, you're a trainer, so you should already know the basics."
"Keep the uninjured areas moving normally to prevent muscle atrophy."
"Then, after a professional evaluation, gradually progress from partial loading to normal everyday full loading."
"Once the immobilization comes off, you can use heat packs, massage, and mobilization techniques to restore joint range of motion."
"During this period, eat plenty of protein-rich foods like fish, meat, and eggs, along with calcium- and vitamin-rich foods like milk, tofu, and fresh fruit."
"That's about it."
"Any questions?"
He stopped typing and looked at Yasui. The Umamusume all looked over with concern as well.
Without much hesitation, Yasui nodded, though he could only laugh bitterly to himself.
Just as the middle-aged doctor had said, trainers needed a solid foundation in medical knowledge. Everything the man had just said was material Yasui had learned before.
He had even practiced and been tested on quite a bit of it while preparing for the certification exams—emergency treatment, simple bandaging, and the like.
No sport could ever completely avoid the risk of injury. All of that study and testing existed for the sake of training Umamusume, just in case the worst happened.
What Yasui had never expected was that after nearly a full year of training Kitasan Black, his exceptionally tough Umamusume had never once had an accident, so he had never needed to use any of that medical knowledge.
And yet after today's finish, he himself had ended up with a minor fracture because Gentildonna had accidentally hurt him.
The whole thing had happened exactly the way Gentildonna described.
The moment they saw the finish and then the results board, several Umamusume had rushed over in a mix of shock and joy—just like Kitajima Saburō at the Kikuka Sho—and thrown their arms around him, Kitasan Black's trainer.
Then, whether it was because someone failed to control their strength or because the jostling made someone apply force the wrong way, he couldn't say.
All Yasui knew was that after Gentildonna grabbed his left arm, the first thing he felt was softness. The next instant, a sharp burst of pain followed.
Under normal circumstances, he absolutely would have reacted in time.
After all, even the first time he had met Kitasan Black, he had been "sent flying" and come out fine.
But at that moment, his entire mind had still been fixed on the result of the race, leaving him dazed and off guard.
All he could say was that it was fortunate he screamed quickly enough, and that the Umamusume—especially Gentildonna—let go fast enough, or else his injury might have been far worse.
"So about one to one and a half months of treatment before it's fully healed, right? Understood."
He asked that while nodding, and when the middle-aged doctor nodded in return, Yasui stood up.
"Thank you, Doctor. Then we won't keep you any longer."
At that, the Umamusume hurriedly thanked him as well and bowed, then left the infirmary together with Yasui.
Outside the infirmary, there were still quite a few Umamusume around—the runners who had just competed.
When they saw Yasui come out, every one of them looked over curiously.
Then, the moment they noticed his arm hanging in a sling, their expressions turned strange.
At the same time, the Umamusume who had come out with Yasui all started either fussing over him or arguing in a rush.
"Yasui-san, I'm truly very sorry. Please allow me to offer you a formal apology on Gentildonna's behalf."
"Deep Impact-senpai... no, this was entirely my fault. Trainer Yasui's medical bills, and his nutrition costs too, I'll cover all of them."
"Well obviously you will. Seriously, what is wrong with you, you absurdly strong woman? Did your brain really turn into muscle?"
"Exactly. So dumb."
"...You two..."
"All right, stop arguing. What matters most right now is—"
"I'll take care of Trainer!"
Raising her voice all of a sudden and ignoring the stunned looks turning toward them from all around, Kitasan Black's ears folded back slightly for a moment, then drooped.
Looking at Yasui's left arm hanging in its sling with worry and heartache, she carefully reached a hand toward it—only to pull it back quickly just before touching it.
"Until Trainer is fully recovered, I'll be the one taking care of him."
Meeting Yasui's startled eyes, she went on in a tone that left no room for objection:
"No matter where Trainer goes or what Trainer does, I'll be right there with him."
"I won't let Trainer get hurt again!"
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T/N: time for them to get suuuuuuuuper close then make out sloppy style at the end