For no clear reason, Offside Trap found that exquisitely beautiful face unbearably irritating. It was a feeling she had never experienced anywhere else in her life. Her chest rose and fell as she forcibly suppressed the irritation boiling inside her and lowered her head slightly.
"I'm sorry."
An apology that had to be made still had to be made. Offside Trap would not neglect what she ought to do just because she disliked someone.
She slowly retreated to Terazumi Shinji's side, then glanced sideways at him. She had heard everything the other girl said, and that one familiar "Shinji" had made her heart tighten.
"You know her?"
"I do."
There was a trace of coldness in Shinji's voice, and Offside Trap froze. This was the first time she had ever seen him wear that kind of expression toward another horse girl.
"She… who is she?"
Offside Trap noticed that the moment she asked that question, the green-haired girl in front of them also turned to look at Shinji. Those eyes that had been cold and sharp when fixed on her became moist and tender the instant they landed on his face.
What kind of emotion was that? Affection mixed with fear. For a moment, Offside Trap could not tell what exactly this girl's relationship to Shinji was.
"Sansho Drum," Shinji said softly. "A horse girl I used to coach."
Offside Trap could clearly sense a sharp stab of pain in the girl's eyes, and that only made her more curious. She knew very little about her trainer's past, and it seemed she was finally about to learn something about it.
"Just… a horse girl you used to coach?"
Shinji's voice was as cold as Sansho Drum's had been when speaking to Offside Trap earlier. Grinding her teeth, the green-haired girl finally mustered her courage and stepped in front of him.
"Can we talk somewhere?"
She reached out a hand, but before her fingers could touch Shinji's wrist, Offside Trap stopped her.
It had to be said: Sansho Drum's skin really was very fair and delicate. That thought passed through Offside Trap's mind, and the look in her eyes darkened.
"Negative emotion +50"
The wrist in her grip began struggling, but Offside Trap did not let go. The other girl was not weak, but compared to her, she was clearly lacking.
"Keep your hands to yourself."
With a light shove, Offside Trap pushed Sansho Drum back two or three steps. It was as if only then, after being startled by Offside Trap's strength, that Sansho Drum truly looked at her.
The truth was, Sansho Drum had already located Shinji while Offside Trap was still at the arcade crane machines. She simply had not shown herself then, choosing instead to observe quietly from a hidden corner for a long time.
She had seen Offside Trap acting spoiled. She had seen Offside Trap cry and fuss. This horse girl seemed more like a decorative vase than anything else.
And yet Sansho Drum had overlooked one important question: why there was an Offside Trap plush in a machine where even she had no place to appear.
"Shinji…" Sansho Drum called out, instinctively aggrieved.
"Negative emotion +70"
Shinji remained cold and gave no response at all. Sansho Drum bit the tip of her tongue.
"Can't we at least talk?"
"What is there to talk about?" A mocking smile touched Shinji's lips, and Sansho Drum's face went pale. "Do you want to discuss where my coaching fell short?"
"That's not—" Sansho Drum took a deep breath. Her reddening eyes and rising voice were already drawing the attention of the people around them. "I just…"
"Stop. I don't want to make a spectacle of us here."
Shinji cut her off decisively. At that, the tears Sansho Drum had been holding back finally spilled over.
The moment she saw Shinji handing that plush to Offside Trap, she had already felt the urge to break down crying.
"Offside Trap and I don't have much time. Say what you need to say."
He turned and headed for the escalator. More and more people were gathering around; there was no way he was going to let strangers stand there watching.
…
"All right. Go on."
Protected behind Offside Trap, Shinji patted the dust from his pants and sat casually down on a bench.
This had once been the place he and Sansho Drum liked most, where they would come together to enjoy the view. Bringing everything to a final end here seemed oddly fitting.
Sansho Drum's body trembled slightly. She was not so foolish that she could not understand what Shinji meant, and that made the pain in her chest twist all the more fiercely.
"I… I just…"
Her tears had not stopped the entire way there. At one point, passersby had nearly mistaken things and assumed Shinji had done something terrible to his trainee.
"I just wanted to fulfill the promise we made… our shared dream."
"Negative emotion +50"
Though he could not see Offside Trap's face, Shinji saw her suddenly clench her fists.
"Our dream?"
"Yes! We promised—we were going to win a G1 race."
Perhaps because the words were finally out, Sansho Drum no longer hesitated. Her beautiful eyes were tinged with red, and Shinji could not tell whether what shone there was unwillingness, regret, or something else entirely.
"Shinji, we liked each other. Didn't we?"
"?"
"Negative emotion +100"
"You said that once we won a G1 together, we'd go out into the world together—not just to race internationally, but to see all those sights and beautiful places together. That we would always, always be together…"
"Negative emotion +100"
Shinji tilted his head slightly. Before, he had only thought Sansho Drum had betrayed him. Now, he seemed to be realizing something else.
This former trainee of his… probably had something wrong with her head.
"And what does any of that have to do with your betrayal?"
"That wasn't betrayal!" Sansho Drum lowered her head so that no one could see her expression. "I was just tired of waiting. I wanted to win a G1 sooner. I wanted to become a G1 horse girl, and then be with you—"
"Do you understand what your leaving meant?"
Shinji's abrupt interruption made Sansho Drum stop dead. Her body shook even more violently as she slowly raised her head.
"You do understand. You've always understood. That was betrayal. Isn't that why you never came to find me?"
Shinji crossed his arms over his chest and spoke with restrained anger.
In the end, he still could not stop himself from letting out the feelings he had kept buried all this time.
"Do you know what I went through after that? I couldn't find a trainee. I had no resources—nothing."
Shinji's breathing grew harsher as he glared at Sansho Drum, who was now shaking her head helplessly.
"I was this close to ending up as a lower-division classroom teacher. If we had failed together in the end, that would have been my own choice. But your leaving me like that meant I couldn't even find a reason to accept the outcome."
"That was the fate you handed me!"
The suppressed fury in Shinji's voice made Sansho Drum's tears pour down in sheets, soaking her collar. Shinji stared at them coldly.
"I… I didn't know it would turn out like that. I thought… I thought Shinji wouldn't be demoted. I thought once I won a G1, everything would be fine…"
"So you admit it, then. You knew it would be hard for me to find another trainee. You never thought about me at all."
"That's not it. I thought that with your ability, Shinji, you definitely could—"
"Then why the hell were you taking your anger out on Offside Trap?!"
Sansho Drum's body finally gave out beneath her. She collapsed to the ground. Dust flew up, mingling with the tears on her face and smearing that lovely, delicate visage into something pitiful and disheveled.
Shinji rose to his feet.
Sansho Drum looked up. Sunlight spilled down behind him, making his face hard to see clearly.
"But it doesn't matter anymore. Let's just say you didn't understand anything."
"Negative emotion +50"
For an instant, light seemed to return to the girl's eyes. She reached out as if to grab hold of his leg, only to hear the words that came next.
"If all goes well, our paths will never cross again."
The last light in her eyes went out. The hand she had just raised slowly fell back down.
"As for you, there's no need to feel guilty. It's simply all too late."
"Of course, maybe you only came back because you watched Offside Trap's Kyoto Daishoten and now want to betray your current trainer too…"
Sansho Drum opened her mouth, wanting to deny it, but the pain stabbing through her heart left her utterly voiceless.
"Offside Trap. We're leaving."
Only his back was left to her.
To Shinji's surprise, the violent emotions that had just been raging through him calmed down almost instantly.
It turned out he no longer cared as much as he once had.
Just as he had said, their roads would never intersect again.
Shiji, maybe she really didn't watch the Kyoto Daishoten.
And what if she didn't?
Shinji looked up at the clear sky. A few white clouds drifted together toward the distance.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
Uma Musume: From Beginner 26
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