Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 498 Following in the Footsteps of Seniors
Northern Black Horse and Almond Eyes were both stunned for a moment. Almond Eyes blinked, his eyes turning strange.
"Boyfriend material...? But..."

She looked the Northern Black Steed up and down beside her:

"Senior Xiao Bei... is a girl..."

"Hmm, boyfriend material, huh..."

After a moment of surprise, the Northern Black Steed looked thoughtful, then smiled and nodded:

"It sounds pretty good, and... I think Hikari-chan said that to me too, and I think other friends have said it as well."

"It's something like, 'I feel especially safe with me.'"

"Huh? Is that so...?"

Almond-shaped eyes were surprised for a moment, then after thinking about it carefully, she agreed thoughtfully:
"It seems... that's how it is. When I'm with my senior, I don't have to worry about many things. He can do them all in one go and he'll think of things in advance, just like this trip."

"You're right, aren't you, Senior Miqi?"

Subconsciously, she asked about the Miqi Rocket, but received no response. Her almond-shaped eyes couldn't help but look over in confusion.
"Senior Miqi...?"

"Um... Ah? I'm sorry, I was just spacing out..."

As if snapping out of his reverie, Miqi Rocket quickly smiled and said:

"Where were we...? Oh right, it seems like it's our turn... I mean, it's our turn to buy takoyaki!"

As she spoke, she pointed to the shop in front of her.

Following her words, Beifang Xuanju and Xingmu realized that, without realizing it, the three of them had indeed arrived at the cashier of the small shop while chatting. The shopkeeper was already looking at them with a gentle and inquiring gaze.

They quickly ordered three servings of red bean paste fish cakes. After they were made, Kita Genko brought them over, hissed, and carefully handed them to Anzu and Miki Rocket.
"Hey, it's done! But don't eat it yet, it's very hot..."

Before she could finish speaking, the Miqi Rocket, eager to try it, cried out in surprise:

"Ouch! It's so hot..."

Then, burning her tongue, she stuck it out repeatedly, as if unwilling to stop, and took another small bite:
"But... it's really delicious! It's softer and chewier than the takoyaki in Tokyo, and the ratio of chestnut flour to red beans is just right!"

"Right, right, it seems the strategy guide I found is indeed correct!"

Smiling and nodding, the Northern Black Steed then reminded him:

"But don't eat too fast, or you'll burn your mouth."

"Yes, I know, thank you for reminding me!"

He chuckled again, and as he blew on the fish-shaped pastry, Hokubu Genko lowered his gaze slightly.

When I mentioned Kozumi-chan and Miki-chan earlier, you probably thought of the Chrysanthemum Appreciation event coming up, right?
Diamond-chan wants to win G1 for the family, and so does Crown-chan...

Miki-chan... definitely wants to win the Chrysanthemum Prize too...

But there can only be one champion...

Furthermore, Miki-chan asked me out today, probably to ask about the trainer. So, she's facing difficulties outside of the competition...

As expected, the Shining Series... is indeed very brutal...

Despite his inner musings, Beifang Xuanju maintained a gentle and warm smile as he continued to lead Xingmu and Miqi Rocket on their adventures.

She hadn't forgotten the purpose of today's date, but if things went as she expected, whether she directly asked Miqi Rocket or subtly inquired, it might make the atmosphere very heavy.

Why not have some fun first? When you're in a good mood, you might be able to solve the problem more effectively.

This method wasn't her own idea; she learned it from her grandfather.

In her memory, her grandfather would always adjust his mood to a peaceful or joyful state before creating or preparing for a performance, and the subsequent works and performances were always excellent.

She hopes to help her new junior and friend, Miqi Rocket, as much as possible through this method.

While enjoying their tsuna-yaki (fish-shaped pastries), the three continued strolling along the street for a while, buying a lot of snacks, as well as souvenirs such as folding fans painted with scenes of Izu and mirrors inlaid with seashells.

As the sun set, after leaving a barbecue restaurant, Beifang Xuanju was about to announce the next activity when Xingmu suddenly looked to the side and grabbed her:
"Senior! Look at that! Isn't that... your doll?"

Following the direction of the almond-shaped eyes, both Northern Black Horse and Miki Rocket looked over curiously and soon saw that the arcade posters featured claw machines, with various kinds of plush toys next to the claw machines.

Each doll is shaped like a racehorse girl. The one in the most prominent position has short black twin tails, a strand of white bangs, and a black, gold, red, and white racing suit, clearly a miniature version of the "Northern Black Horse".

"Huh—really?"

The curious rocket couldn't resist moving closer, bending down to examine the poster:

"It really is a doll of the senior, and it's a limited edition. They even made the red and white stripes from the final outfit. That's amazing!"

"That's it!"

Squeezed next to the Miqi Rocket, almond-shaped eyes scanned the poster up and down, then turned to look at the Northern Black Horse:
"Senior Xiao Bei, shall we give it a try? Maybe we can catch it in no time!"

Visiting the arcade was also on Kita Genkatsu's itinerary, but it was something they would do on the side after visiting some of Izu's nighttime scenery.

Seeing her two juniors so excited, she wasn't about to spoil the fun at all. She nodded vigorously and patted her chest.
"No problem! Since you want to try, let's go try our luck. I'll pay for the game tokens!" ...

When they came out of the arcade, the three horse racers were each carrying several horse racer dolls. Kita Genko had the most, and the paper bag hanging from his wrist was bulging with dolls.

Holding a small chestnut hat doll in one hand and a Northern Black Steed doll in the other, Miqi Rocket glanced at the bulging paper bag in Northern Black Steed's arms and said with longing and envy:

"Senior...you are really amazing. Not only are you so good at the competition, but you are also so good at playing claw machines."

"Yeah yeah!"

Holding the Dragon King doll and the Northern Black Steed doll, Almond Eyes nodded repeatedly and said:
"Miqi-chan and I tried to catch it several times but couldn't, but Senior caught it in one go. If it weren't for Senior, we would have wasted a lot of tokens."

"Hehehe, it's really nothing. As long as you estimate in advance, you can catch it without any problem. You guys can catch it if you try more."

With a silly grin and a humble remark, Beibu Xuanju looked at his pocket, then at the paper bag, took one out, and handed it to Miqi Rocket:

"Hey, Miki-chan, this is for you."

"Huh? This...this isn't right, is it? I was caught with the help of my senior, how can I..."

Subconsciously declining, Miqi Rocket shook his head somewhat flusteredly.

However, she was stunned when she saw the doll handed to her by the Northern Black Horse.

A pink crown, emerald and gold earrings, a pink and white victory outfit, a confident expression...

“This is…” Staring blankly at the doll, Miki Rocket murmured, “What a great opera senior…”

"Hmm, Miki-chan probably really wants to catch one, right?"

Smiling and nodding, Beifang Xuanju handed the opera doll he was holding forward again:
"Although it's just a guess, it feels like that's probably the case. After all, Miki-chan tried to catch it several times, and when she realized she hadn't succeeded, she looked very disappointed."

"...Senior actually noticed that..." Miqi Rocket's mouth gradually widened, and he subconsciously took the doll.

"It seems I was right after all."

Nodding again with a smile, the Northern Black Steed fell silent for a moment:
"And since it's also just speculation, I feel that instead of figuring out how to get along with the trainer, Miki-chan... should probably face her own problems directly."

"My...problem...?"

“Yes, that’s right,” seeing Miqi Rocket’s blank expression, Northern Black Steed’s expression gradually became serious:

"When I first agreed to help you, I thought you wanted my help because you had communication problems with your trainer."

"I thought the same thing when we were playing today."

"But seeing your reaction to this doll, and your expression when you mentioned the great opera predecessors, I thought of another possibility."

He paused, carefully observing the expression on the Miqi Rocket's face. Seeing that the other opened his mouth but did not utter a sound, the Northern Black Steed became even more certain that the emotion he had sensed was correct:

"With such a senior like Miki-chan, you... must be under a lot of pressure, right?"

"How can I become a legendary racehorse like my predecessors? How far am I from achieving that level of success? Have I let my trainers down with my performance since my debut?"

"I think this must be the pressure you're under?"

"Perhaps this is a shared pressure between you and your trainer?"

After Beibu Xuanju finished speaking, Miqi Rocket lowered his eyes and remained silent for a long time before nodding his chin with difficulty:
"Senior from the North... you're really amazing. I didn't say anything, and you... guessed everything. You're really... incredible..."

"As for being amazing... well, it's not really that impressive."

Smiling and shaking his head, the Northern Black Steed raised its head, gazing into the distance. In its mind, a figure with a playful yet radiant smile, the center of attention, appeared:

"I'm all too familiar with the feeling of longing for my seniors."

"From the moment I entered Treson Academy..."

"No, even earlier, I've been staring at my senior's match videos every day, wondering when I can stand on the same field as her, when... I can catch up with her."

She suddenly looked back, her eyes curving into crescent moons:
"Fortunately, I am now able to run alongside her."

"She also told me that I... might become a racehorse girl who surpasses her in the future."

As she spoke, she moved closer to the Miqi Rocket and placed her hands heavily on its shoulders.

Feeling the strength and warmth from his shoulder, Miki Rocket instinctively hugged the opera doll in his arms, looked up, and revealed a bewildered and dazed little face:

"senior……?"

"So, Miki-chan, we're all the same."

His crimson eyes shone brightly in the night, and the Northern Black Horse's tone was gentler and more resolute than ever before:
"No, I should say that all of us racehorse girls are the same."

"They all follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, doing their best to keep up, and then... surpass them."

"Therefore, I will do my best to help you, and we will run together on this road of chasing after our predecessors."

(End of this chapter)