Hearing his mother say that, Yasui Makoto felt a little awkward and could not help rubbing his nose, a trace of discomfort flashing through his eyes.
From the start of the year until now, he still had not gone back home, and he really had lied to his family before. The reason, of course, was that he did not want them finding out he was injured and worrying too much.
What he had not expected was that his father—who was always stern-faced and forever telling him this was wrong and that was wrong—would be so observant that he noticed the injury just from seeing him on television, then sent his mother over to check on him.
And yet when Yasui Makoto thought of that, there was no resentment in him at all. If anything, the warmth of that family affection left him quietly gratified.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and he said softly,
"Dad doesn't talk much, and he's always picking at my faults, but when it counts... he really does care about me."
"Of course he does. Your father's just stubborn about saying it out loud, but you're always on his mind."
Misuzu looked at her son, her eyes full of tenderness. "When he saw you were hurt this time, he got so anxious. He kept urging me to come and check on you as soon as possible."
Yasui Makoto smiled but said nothing. Inside, though, he was already thinking things over.
It was still break, the academy had not started back up yet, Kitasan Black's races would not begin until after they returned from overseas, and Almond Eye's assessment was still a little ways off.
Since he was relatively free right now, and the fact that he was injured had already been exposed anyway, maybe he could go back home for a few days before long.
As if she had seen straight through her son's thoughts, Misuzu blinked, then suddenly gave him an odd little smile.
She glanced at Kitasan Black, who was still busy taking photos and signing autographs with Almond Eye, then leaned a little closer to her son and lowered her voice, one hand cupped near her mouth.
"So when the time comes, are you coming back with me by yourself... or are you bringing Kita-chan along too?"
Without thinking much about it, Yasui Makoto answered on reflex, "Obviously by myself. Why would I bring Kita-chan along..."
The moment the words left his mouth, he froze. He looked at his mother, saw the teasing glint in her eyes, and then froze all over again as her meaning hit him.
Suddenly helpless, and more than a little troubled, he scratched his head.
"...Please don't start imagining things. Kita-chan and I are just a normal trainer-and-Umamusume pair. That joke earlier about us living together was already going way too far, so don't..."
Seeing how flustered her son looked, Misuzu could not help laughing softly.
"All right, all right. Just a normal relationship, then."
"I just think Kita-chan's such a good girl—sweet, thoughtful, and taking such meticulous care of you..."
"Isn't she?"
As she said it, she flicked another glance in Kitasan Black's direction, her eyes full of appreciation.
Yasui Makoto sighed helplessly and stopped responding to his mother's baiting. Even so, his gaze drifted toward Kitasan Black in the distance before he realized it.
At that moment, Kitasan Black was patiently signing an autograph for a young fan. Her face was lit with a gentle smile, and the sunlight falling over her traced a beautiful outline around her.
When she finished signing and looked up, her eyes happened to meet Yasui Makoto's.
She blinked slightly, then broke into a bright smile and waved to him.
For some reason, Yasui Makoto's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively wanted to look away at once, but he could not help smiling instead as he lifted a hand and waved back.
Taking all of that in, Misuzu gave a faint shake of her head, though the smile on her lips only grew more meaningful. In a very low voice, she muttered, "So it's just a normal relationship, is it? Looks like there'll still be plenty to watch later on..."
...
After the New Year's visit, Kikō Misuzu did not stay long. Two days later, she returned home, and Yasui Makoto went back with her for a visit.
The moment he stepped through the familiar front door, he was scolded by his father exactly as expected.
That stern tone, mixed with the unmistakable concern in his father's eyes, left Yasui Makoto with no choice but to promise again and again that he would be more careful in the future, that he would never get hurt like this again, and that he absolutely would not let an Umamusume get hurt either. Only then did his father's expression finally soften a little.
During the few days he stayed back home, Yasui Makoto found himself thinking now and then of Kitasan Black and Almond Eye in Tokyo.
But more than Almond Eye, it was Kitasan Black who kept coming to mind. The number and length of the phone calls he had with the first Umamusume to sign an agreement with him were noticeably greater too.
Every time the call connected, he would hear the girl's familiar voice on the other end, eagerly telling him about the latest progress she had made in a game that day.
Or about some especially interesting book she had found.
Or about a new training method she had tried at the track.
As he listened to her lively little reports about her days, Yasui Makoto would find himself smiling without noticing—and along with that came a strange feeling in his chest.
At first, he did not examine that feeling too closely. He just assumed he had grown used to seeing Kitasan Black every day, and now that they were suddenly apart, it felt a little strange.
It was not until one day, while he was on the phone with Kitasan Black, that his mother happened to pass by and teasingly remarked, "Look at that smile on your face. Talking to Kita-chan makes you that happy, huh?"
Only then did he suddenly come back to himself.
After ending the call, he found himself thinking back.
Back to that accident when they first met.
Back to the look in her eyes when she said she hoped to become his Umamusume, full of longing for the races ahead and firm belief in the future.
Back to training, when Kitasan Black threw herself into it completely—every sprint, every break from the gate, every turn accompanied by his voice guiding her as the two of them strove together toward victory.
Back to the track, where her wind-swift figure always managed to surprise him at the crucial moment.
Every race had been proof of the two of them fighting side by side, a medal earned in their relentless pursuit of their dream.
And then there was this recent stretch of time, after he had been injured, when Kitasan Black's careful attention had made it impossible for him to forget.
Before the first light of morning had even fully driven the chill of night away, she would quietly step into the kitchen to prepare him a nutritious breakfast.
While he sat at his desk reading materials and planning training schedules, she would sit nearby in silence, occasionally handing him a steaming cup of tea.
And the way she looked at him was always full of trust and reliance, as if in her eyes he was the most dependable person in the world.
If the understanding they had built during training and racing had only been the natural result of a normal bond between trainer and Umamusume—then these small acts of care in everyday life were like pebbles tossed into the still surface of his heart, sending ring after ring spreading outward.
So that whenever he thought back on them, his heart would start beating faster without his meaning it to.
Lying on the floor, staring blankly up at the ceiling, Yasui Makoto wore a faint smile—but his brows were drawn slightly together, his eyes full of confusion and thought.
So... is this what liking someone feels like?
Do I... like Kitasan Black?
Since when...? How did I not realize it...?
Just as he was caught up in that tangle of uncertainty, his phone chimed with a new message.
He picked it up on reflex.
[Kitasan Black]:Trainer, I forgot to mention this on the phone earlier, but Almond Eye's entrance exam is in a few days, so you have to come back. Almond Eye is waiting for you.
[Kitasan Black]:And I'm waiting for you to come back too.
His fingers gently brushed over the screen, the smile at the corners of his mouth growing more obvious as the tightness in his brow gradually eased.
The confusion and uncertainty seemed to drift away on a soft breeze, leaving behind only a quiet certainty.
He stopped trying to dig into exactly when this feeling had first taken root.
He simply felt that having a bond like this with Kitasan Black, receiving a message from her filled with this kind of anticipation—every bit of it was beautiful.
Smiling without even noticing, he quickly tapped out a reply on the screen.
[Don't worry. I'll definitely be back on time. Wait for me.]
---
T/N: OH?????????????????????????
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This is a fan translation of 赛马娘:从被撞飞十米开始 by 百升飞上天 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!