After hearing her say she wanted to become his uma musume, Fujiwara Chiya could not hide his disappointment. For a moment, he thought fate had finally brought him romance, only to realize it was just a trainer and uma musume connection.
"Just now, I followed the guidance of the divine and came to this shrine to draw a fortune for my future. It said, 'The one destined for you will appear today.' And that person is you!"
"…What?"
"No need to doubt it. I am an uma musume, and you are a trainer. That is clearly fate. So please become my trainer, and together we will seize our luck in the Twinkle Series!"
She gave him a confident thumbs-up.
This felt familiar.
He had once met another uma musume who was just as enthusiastic about signing a contract. Her name was Gold Ship. Now she had become the biggest headache in his team.
Still, Chiya was in no position to be picky.
"…Alright. But I need to test you first."
"That makes sense. Trainers always evaluate uma musume before signing. So, is it a performance test? Where do we do it?"
"No. I want to test your character."
"…My character?" Matikanefukukitaru tilted her head with interest. "That is new. I have never heard of a trainer doing that before."
"Can you accept it?"
"…You are an interesting man." She straightened her posture. "Very well. Then please, Trainer, see for yourself what kind of person I am."
"So she is our new candidate."
"Nice to meet you. I am Matikanefukukitaru. I am currently working hard to fulfill the request of my destined person." She bowed politely.
"Destined person?" Rice Shower perked up.
"That is right. A destined person is someone you are meant to meet. And Trainer Chiya and I are exactly that."
"Eh? Then… Onii-sama and I should also be destined, right…?"
"I can check your compatibility with a fortune reading. If the result is good, then it is definitely fate."
Rice Shower was immediately drawn in.
"Wait, Trainer, you went out for a break and came back with another uma musume? Has your bad luck finally run out?" Gold Ship raised an eyebrow.
"Who said I was slacking…"
"Exactly. Meeting me means meeting good fortune. From today on, Trainer Chiya's luck will turn around," Fukukitaru cut in confidently.
"Why are you here, Fukukitaru-san?" A cautious voice spoke up.
"Ah, Dober. What a coincidence. Are you also Trainer Chiya's uma musume?"
"Me? Um… kind of. Not officially yet."
"I am currently working hard to fulfill Trainer's request. From now on, we are teammates." Fukukitaru grabbed her hands and shook them energetically.
The two were even in the same class.
With Fukukitaru in tow, Chiya returned to Tracen Academy. His team was finally starting to grow again.
"Trainer Chiya, you are weeding again today?" a small voice called out from the flowerbed.
"Good evening, Nishino Flower."
Nishino Flower smiled gently. "The weeding is already done. From here, you only need to water them and check daily. If there are bugs, you should take care of those as well."
"Got it. Thanks for your help these past few days."
"No need to thank me. I enjoy this. Growing flowers takes patience. Someone like you, who comes every day to water them, is already doing more than enough."
Chiya felt a bit pleased hearing that. Even if this punishment only lasted a month, at least he could leave a good impression.
"You two look busy~"
A lazy voice drifted over as Seiun Sky approached.
"Sky, taking another stroll?"
"Of course. After eating, you walk a bit, then find somewhere nice to lie down and nap."
"There is no lap pillow for you today."
"That is a shame. That means Trainer Chiya misses out too."
"…Wait, you are right."
"Hehe. Sky-chan's special perks are not available every day."
She lay down right in the flowerbed.
"…Why are you sleeping there?"
"Because it smells nice. And…" She narrowed her eyes. "Watching someone else work makes it even more relaxing."
"…Should it not be the opposite?"
"No. Watching others work makes doing nothing feel even better."
"…That is kind of annoying."
"Trainer Chiya, you should not get mad at a flower."
"A flower?"
"Of course. Sky-chan is a cute little flower in this garden. Just treat me like one."
"…Really?"
"Of course."
Chiya lifted the watering can and sprinkled water over her.
"Trainer Chiya…"
Something grabbed his ankle, and he fell backward. In the next moment, Sky flipped over and pinned him down.
Water dripped from her green hair.
"Wait, you told me to treat you like a flower."
"So were you planning to pluck my leaves too?"
"I was not thinking that far ahead… ah!"
Her thighs tightened around him like a vise. The strength of an uma musume's legs was far beyond human.
"Trainer Chiya, let me take care of you too."
Smiling, she poured water over him.
"I am drowning…"
"Hey, wait. Do not squirm. And do not touch weird places."
Ignoring the chaos behind her, Nishino Flower quietly trimmed away dead leaves.
Now the flowers could grow properly.
The next day, Chiya sat in his office wearing a spare uniform. Yesterday's one was stained with grass and had already been sent for cleaning.
He stretched his sore neck.
During the struggle yesterday, he accidentally touched something he shouldn't have, and Sky made sure he paid for it. No matter how strong uma musume were, they were still girls. There were boundaries you absolutely could not cross. If Sky had not been in a good mood, he might not even have made it out of bed today.
Just as he was about to return to work, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
"Excuse me."
A black-haired girl stepped inside.
"Hello, senpai. I was referred by Katsumura-senpai for the joint training session. My name is… huh?"
She froze when she saw his face.
At the same time, Chiya froze as well.
"…Chiya?"
"…Aoi?"
They both said each other's names at the same time.
"Have a seat, please. Go ahead," Chiya said quickly as he stood up.
He had not expected this at all. The new trainer Yota mentioned yesterday, the one joining for joint training, turned out to be his university classmate, Kiryuuin Aoi.