"Pant… Pant…"
"Pant… Haaah… Pant… Pant…"
"Alright, good work, girls. I got a gist of your abilities."
The young man gives the panting Umas some refreshment after their run. He just had these Umas run 5 laps after initially asking for 3, but he gets irritated and punishes them 2 more. With his eyes and experiences, the young man has confirmed McQueen and Teio's stats and abilities. Although he wants to focus on his trainee, McQueen, he can't help but also read into Teio's as when they were running, both of them are almost glued to each other.
They both are chasers, which is why they're running side-by-side earlier. On the other hand, Teio's aptitude for long races isn't as good as McQueen and that makes her more tired compared to McQueen. With Teio's speed stat, it's no wonder she leads the race for the first half and struggles in the second half.
If both of them go against each other, then McQueen can only hope to outlast Teio in stamina with their current stats.
"So what should I do… Pant… Trainer?"
"We should discuss what future you want to take, and I'll make your training menu from there."
"How about me?! Pant… How about me?! Pant…"
"You're not my trainee, Teio. I can help, but what I have in mind might differ from what your future trainer has in mind. Heck, our vision might even clash, and that would be bad."
"Then I just make you my trainer."
"No."
"EH!?!? WHY?!?!"
To the rejection, Teio cries and jumps onto the young man's face and hugs him.
"PLEASE!!"
"GET IT OFF!! GET IT OFF!! AAAAAA!! I'M GOING TO GIVE BIRTH TO A XENOMORPH!! AAAAAAHHHH!!! HEEEELLLPPP!!!"
Before McQueen could do anything, her trainer had already bolted off trying to pry Teio's away from his face. She watched as the desperate young man grabbed Teio's small body and tried to pull it away, only to be reminded of how much stronger an Uma is compared to a human. The desperate young man gets on the ground and starts rolling around in hope that the facehugger would stick to the ground, but to no avail, it's still firmly hugging the young man's face.
"Trainer! Please calm down!!"
McQueen finally caught up to the duo and tried to get her best friend away from her trainer's face.
"Teio!! Please let go!!"
McQueen tries her damn hardest to pry her best friend away, but to no avail. The Amber brown-haired Uma doesn't even bulge.
"ALRIGHT!! I'LL BE YOUR TRAINER!! JUST LE ME LIVE!!!"
"EEEH!!! YYYAAAAAAYYYY!!"
Only after her victim submits to her will does the Monarch finally let go. She jumps around happily like a kid after her mother buys her a new toy.
"Trainer, are you okay?"
McQueen couldn't help but be worried for her trainer. He might be an asshole, but he is her asshole. Seeing him almost die from her best friend gives a mixed feeling to the young Mejiro lady.
"McQueen."
"Eh?"
McQueen was taken aback when her trainer grabbed her shoulder firmly. She can feel his conviction in whatever he is going to do. Whatever it is, it must be important, so she'd better listen.
"Let's elope together."
".. You will train me to become an Uma worthy of the Mejiro name, and in exchange, I will train you into being a normal member of society."
"Wait, what?"
XxX-XxX
"Rudolph, the chairwoman has bought a new machine that we can use to fix the turf on the racing course. Should I write a letter of intent to her? I believe it's better if we get ourselves accustomed to whatever the chairwoman has bought sooner rather than later."
"Yes, please. Brian, did you find anything noteworthy during your patrol?"
"The usual."
"Sigh… Air Groove, please file some reports to the police."
It's hard being on the student council where the academy is filled with growing adolescent Uma. During puberty, humans experience an influx of hormonal changes, and said hormonal changes also apply to Uma Musume as well. The difference being, in a school for humans, the girls are usually weaker compared to their male counterparts that they grow feelings for, but that can not be said for Tracen Academy.
In Tracen Academy, the students mostly interact with their trainers, and those relationships are usually much more intimate compared to the relationships between friends. The trainers and trainees would undergo hardships, celebrations, cries, and cheers together. And this usually causes the Uma to grow a feeling for their trainer. When said feeling finally boils over, it is said that the Uma would ask their trainer to deepen their relationship. Most of the time, the trainers would outright refuse, but since Uma is stronger than humans, the rejected Uma would just say 'Screw it' and take their trainer for themselves.
"This is what happened when you only accept the good trainers, Rudolph. Everyone would be fighting for the limited golden eggs."
"So are you saying we should accept some trainers with a bad attitude, Air Groove?"
"So far, all the Umas ever heard is that trainers and trainees are destined for each other. That the trainers are knights in shining armor for them. All those tales get into their heads and corrupt their view of what a trainer and trainee are supposed to be. The baskets are filled with delicious fruits, so everyone just grabs them blindly. If we introduce some rotten ones, they would learn to look first before grabbing."
"I see…"
Rudolph mulls over her vice president's words. She has heard of how her fellow Umas describe their meetings between them and trainers as if they were some beautiful fairytales. Those stories would then spread like a forest fire, and before you know it, a brand new image and expectation are born in the mind of the growing Umas. It doesn't help that the trainers in Tracen are all respectful and polite, which only adds fuel to the fire. Their kindness only acts as proof of the fairytales many of the senior Umas have sung about.
If there were bad trainers that shatter the fairy tales, then surely it can act like a cold truth to the flaming Umas, right? Waking them up from their fantasies.
But the problem is, who should Rudolph invite to the Tracen Academy as an example of a bad trainer? She can't just invite a prisoner from some random jail. She can't just invite some random stranger from the street either, as the chairwoman would reject them without a single thought. She needs someone who is clearly an Uma trainer but exudes a dangerous aura.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"Prez!!"
Teio!! Rudolph suddenly remembered that she had asked Teio to keep a tab on that suspicious trainer who made a contract with Mejiro McQueen this afternoon. That's it!! She can use him as a bad example for the rest of the Umas to be more wary around trainers!! To straighten the relationship between trainers and trainees into what they were always meant to be!!
"Come in, Teio."
Rudolph was beaming with joy. Surely, her most trusted lieutenant has come back with some good news for her.
"HEYO PREZ!!"
Her lieutenant walks into the room with a face full of joy, which causes everyone to involuntarily smile at how bright she is shining. But Rudolph's smile quickly fades away as the next 2 people enter the room with Teio, McQueen, and Igo Heita, the trainer Rudolph was suspicious of.
Only then does Rudolph's vision finally return to normal, and she can see everything clearly. Igo Heita has his hands on McQueen and Teio's shoulders, as if they were his properties. Their clothes were disheveled. If it were just McQueen and Teio's clothes, she would think they had just trained, but that doesn't explain why the trainer's clothes would be disheveled as well.
This can't be happening!! Not to Teio!!
Rudolph feels like a father watching her daughter get taken away by a Playboy. And the worst part is, it was her idea. Rudolph was the one who asked Teio to keep a tab on Igo Heita, only for said trainers to flip the script on Rudolph and capture Teio in his hand.
No! Calm yourself down, Rudolph! There has to be an explanation for this!
"Can I have the trainer and trainee contract, Prez? I want to make a contract with Trainer Igo."
NOOOOO!!! Why?!?! What happened!?!?
"I–I—I see… Cough… Mind explaining as to why? I would hand over the con–contract, but for a rookie trainer to be assigned two Umas is a little bit… Iffy. I would need a proper reason from the trainees to justify this."
"Well, Trainer Igo knows our bodies well, and he knows how to use them."
"Ack!"
McQueen's words feel like a knife stab to Rudolph's heart.
"Yep!! I feel like following him would grant me more satisfaction, Prez!!"
"Kuh!"
A rapier had just materialized and stabbed Rudolph's heart once again as Teio gave her answer.
"He is very good with his hands."
"BUH!!"
A claymore was swung straight at Rudolph's heart.
"You said I should keep an eye on him, right? That means even you acknowledge how good he is! Thanks for your help, Prez!! I finally find my fated trainer!"
"Aa… Aa…"
Rudolph let out her last breath. The corpse of what once was the Tracen Academy student council president, listlessly pushed the contract forward to the trio. Her pale, slender fingers shakily give Teio the contract for her and Igo to sign.
"Thanks, Prez!! We won't disappoint you!! We're going to have so much fun together!! All three of us!!"
"..."
If Rudolph's heart still exists after all the attacks, Teio had just stomped on its grave and set it on fire.
"Here, Prez!! Thanks!! We're going to continue!! Bye!!"
After signing the contract, the trio quickly left the office, but not before Igo Heita said a few parting words to Rudolph.
"Don't worry. I'm going to give Teio the satisfaction that she craves. You can have my words on that."
"..."
*Clack*
"Air Groove, Brian."
"Yes?"
"Hm?"
"I failed… I have failed… I will write my resignation letter as student council president and secluded myself on Mount Fuji."
"Wait a second!! What's happening?!?!"