13: Umamusume: A Trainer Against the Clock!
[13] 13: Umamusume: A Trainer Against the Clock!
[13] Kitano brought Oguri Cap and the others from the cafeteria back to his dorm.
He had brought them there for only one reason: to verify a guess, a hypothesis that might change his understanding of the loop he now found himself in.
“Kitano?
Are you really okay?
With that body of yours—can you really handle cooking a meal?” “Don’t you dare force yourself.
You’re already down to half a life as it is.
Dying over one meal wouldn’t be worth it!” Inside Kitano’s dorm, when Kitano suggested that he wanted to drag his sick body along and personally cook a dish for Oguri Cap, it truly startled Nakayama Festa and the others.
In particular, the two sisters of the Gold Family, who knew Kitano’s physical condition extremely well, watched him with worry written all over their faces.
Over the years Kitano had lived with the Gold Family, Gold Ship and Festa had watched his health worsen day by day, from being able to walk normally to now relying entirely on a wheelchair.
They did not say it aloud, but in truth, they cared about Kitano’s every move more than anyone, afraid that some accident might happen and cause his already fragile life to wither away completely.
As for cooking, that was something they did not even dare imagine.
Even back when Kitano had still been relatively healthy, Nakayama Festa, Gold Ship, and the others had never enjoyed such treatment.
Yet now, Kitano had said he would cook for Oguri Cap, whom he had supposedly met for the first time.
It was truly beyond their understanding.
“Don’t worry.
I won’t force myself.” With Gold Ship’s help, Kitano put on an apron while speaking softly to the worried Festa.
“My body hasn’t been doing too well lately, but if it’s just one simple dish, I can still manage.” “Trainer Kitano… I think you should listen to them, you know?” At this point, it was not only the two of them; even Mr.
C.B.
and Tamamo could no longer stand by and watch.
C.B.
in particular felt an inexplicable irritation in her chest when she saw Kitano show unprecedented concern toward Oguri Cap, whom he had never met before, even forcing himself just to see whether he could untie the knot in Oguri’s heart.
But right now, C.B.
had no time to focus on that.
More than anything, she hoped Kitano would not force himself.
Unfortunately, the current C.B.
still did not understand Kitano well enough.
Otherwise, she would have known that what Kitano cared about most was everything related to his trainees.
When it came to that principle, no one could persuade Kitano otherwise.
Moreover, Kitano himself was extremely concerned about this issue now.
Oguri Cap’s psychological problem and the flavor she was searching for… It might have been him flattering himself, but he could not think of anything that fit everything Oguri Cap had described better than the dishes he had once made for her.
In the past, when Kitano had served as Oguri Cap’s Trainer, he had always let her eat to her heart’s content.
But the food at Tracen Academy was not free.
Although Tracen kept prices very low for the meals supplied to Umamusume, whose appetites were generally large, Oguri’s family circumstances, combined with her almost unbelievable appetite, still often plunged her into financial crisis during her early days after entering Central—fortunately, she had Kitano.
Back then, Kitano had often paid out of his own pocket to give the strapped-for-cash Oguri extra meals.
Later, even after Oguri Cap’s prize money was enough for her to eat as much as she liked, she still pestered Kitano every few days, hoping he would personally cook for her.
That continued until Kitano’s lifespan drew near its end and his body could no longer support him in the kitchen.
From then on, Oguri Cap never mentioned it again.
And during that time spent taking care of Oguri, what Kitano made for her most often was delicious, inexpensive fried rice—the kind he could pile high on a plate.
Could it be… that the “flavor” Oguri Cap spoke of was connected to the dishes from their past?
But… this was clearly already a new loop.
This had never happened before.
Or was this loop a timeline he had never encountered before, one influenced by him?
All sorts of questions flashed through Kitano’s mind, but he would only know the answers after verifying it.
“It’s okay!
I’m pretty good at cooking too!” Tamamo clearly did not want Kitano to overdo it either, and immediately stepped forward, patting her small chest with great confidence.
“Trainer Kitano, ya just gotta tell me the steps.
I can handle the physically demanding stuff like tossing the wok for ya!” “—No, thank you, Tamamo, but please leave this to me.” However, Kitano shook his head and declined Tamamo Cross’s kindness.
The same ingredients in different hands could produce two completely different flavors, even if the steps looked identical.
Kitano did not want Oguri Cap to be disappointed again because of that slight difference.
More than that… deep down, Kitano himself was also a little fixated.
He was somewhat hoping that the flavor Oguri Cap spoke of was connected to him.
If that was the case… then at least he would know that after he died in that loop, that girl had cared about him too.
This was something he had to confirm with his own hands.
I hope my stamina can still hold out for this… Kitano gritted his teeth.
Perhaps because there was a belief supporting him in his heart, Kitano, who had lost even the strength to stand several months ago, pressed both hands firmly against the armrests of his wheelchair.
Under everyone’s worried gazes, he shakily stood up again.
During this process, Nakayama Festa, Gold Ship, Mr.
C.B., Tamamo, and the others beside Kitano all wore extremely tense expressions, afraid that Kitano might lose his balance and collapse on the spot, so they could immediately rush forward to support him.
At the dining table nearby, Oguri Cap, who had been silent all this time, also turned her gaze toward Kitano… There was pain in her expression, and hesitation.
How could her heart not be tormented too?
How could she want Kitano to force himself like this?
But… that answer, the answer that had troubled her for so long, might finally appear now.
Oguri Cap had that premonition.
She watched Kitano’s back, feeling her heartbeat begin to quicken.
Everything before her eyes seemed to grow more and more similar to that vague dream of hers, gradually overlapping with it… “Trainer-san, I won my race today!
I finally beat Tamamo!” “I already know.
Well done, Oguri Cap.
I’ll reward you today and cook for you one more time.
This time, you can eat until you’re full.” “Mm.
You’re so kind… .” Who was that?
In a daze, fragments from that dream appeared in Oguri Cap’s mind again.
Yet in the dream, the name she used to address that person… what was it?
Why couldn’t she remember?
Why had she forgotten his name?
Was he important to her?
“—Extra-large fried rice, Oguri Cap.” Just as Oguri Cap was racking her mind, trying to figure out who that figure in her dream was, the voice in the dream and Kitano’s voice in reality overlapped once again.
When Oguri finally came back to herself, a large serving of fried rice, steaming hot and rich with aroma, had been placed in front of her.
After finishing all that, Kitano almost collapsed back into his wheelchair as if drained of strength.
Aside from the dazed Oguri Cap, almost everyone immediately gathered around Kitano, anxiously asking one after another, “Trainer Kitano?
Are you all right?” “You okay, Kitano?” “Kitano-chan, did you wear yourself out?” “—Don’t worry about me.
I’m fine.” Dragging his sick body through even such a simple meal had visibly exhausted Kitano.
As he sat back in his wheelchair, his already sickly pale face had turned several shades whiter.
But compared to his sorry state, Kitano’s spirit was higher than ever.
His bright eyes fixed on Oguri Cap, who was still staring blankly at the fried rice, and expectation shone in them without concealment.
Only after swallowing did he barely suppress his excitement and say, “Oguri Cap, try it.
I’m not very confident… but this is the best I can manage right now.” “…I will eat.” Under everyone’s eyes, Oguri Cap’s expression returned to calm once more.
After bringing her hands together again, she picked up the spoon and brought a mouthful of fried rice into her mouth.
The next moment, as Oguri, carrying the same excitement in her heart, tasted every trace of flavor in the fried rice with unprecedented slowness and care, she stopped all movement.
…To be fair, this was not the best fried rice Oguri Cap had ever eaten.
Some grains had not been completely separated, probably because Kitano’s stamina had not allowed him to manage it.
The seasoning was somewhat casual too.
It was delicious, but it gave the sense that it could have been made even better.
But it was precisely that casualness… that caused all of Oguri Cap’s thoughts to come to a halt in that instant.
She devoted herself completely to feeling the flavor bursting from every grain of rice in her mouth, savoring it for a very, very long time… “Nice to meet you, Trainer-san.
I’m Oguri Cap.
My mom said you were willing to be my Trainer.
Is that true?” “Trainer-san, someone from Central came to see me before.
They said I can go to Central Tracen Academy!—Huh?
You knew?
And you agreed?” “Trainer-san… is there something you haven’t told me?
You didn’t tell me that after I went to Central, you wouldn’t be able to be my Trainer anymore.” “I don’t want to go… Trainer-san… why do you want me to leave?
I don’t want to be separated from you.” “—I’m going to win.” Voices that belonged to Oguri Cap herself began to echo continuously through her mind as she carefully savored the lingering taste.
The scenes flashing past were her journey from the local circuit to Central, that journey she could never forget.
But somehow… it did not seem the same as everything in her memories.
That Trainer who supported her, who constantly cheered her on from behind, who supported her going to Central… who exactly was he?
She clearly had no such experience.
Her path from the local circuit to Central had clearly gone smoothly.
She had distinguished herself in local dirt races, had her talent recognized by Symboli Rudolf, and entered Central… She should have experienced all of that.
Why did she feel that these insubstantial dreams… were her real life instead?
In the dream, Oguri Cap vaguely saw a great gate—that was the gate of Tracen Academy, one she had seen countless times.
Was this the scene from her first time entering Central Tracen?
But… beyond that gate, someone seemed to be waiting for her.
Under Oguri Cap’s gaze, the familiar figure standing in front of her with their back turned slowly turned around.
At that moment, the unprecedentedly bright sunlight made it somewhat difficult for Oguri Cap to see their face clearly.
But that silhouette alone was enough for her to recognize them at a glance… that person she could not be separated from.
“—Hey, Oguri Cap.
From the local scene to Central, did you eat well along the way?” “I hope you don’t mind.
Even though the place has changed, your Trainer is still the same person.
And one who only got his Central license yesterday, at that—a rookie Trainer who never achieved anything back in the local scene.” That person smiled teasingly at Oguri Cap.
And in the next moment, the gray-haired Umamusume silently ran forward in tears and gave the person she had longed for day and night the most dependent embrace… “…So familiar.” “Mm?” As her thoughts returned to reality, Oguri Cap’s murmur immediately drew the attention of Kitano and the others.
Under everyone’s gaze, Oguri Cap, who had left them all holding their breath in worry and had been silent for a long time, finally showed a reaction.
On the face of this gray-haired Umamusume, who had always been indifferent before, as if she had no emotional fluctuations at all, a faint smile appeared for the first time.
She forced back the tears in her eyes, and only after taking a deep breath did she speak softly.
“Such a familiar flavor.
It is very much like the flavor I have tasted before…” “It seems… there is still a little missing.
It is only a little away from the flavor I have always been chasing.” — T/N: OUGHHH SO SADGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE