Unfortunately, no reporters managed to catch up with Hayato to have an interview. After the race ended, he'd already run off without even watching the victory stage performance.
Seiun Sky noticed something was off and tried to make a run for it, too, but the staff nabbed her before she could escape.
"Wait, no, I can't—"
"Come on, you need to get on stage!"
They practically dragged her up there anyway.
Under the main headline "Seiun Sky" sat another line: "Looking Up at the Sky, Dreams Are the Stars and Sea." They'd even captured a photo of Seiun Sky staring blankly at the sky with that thousand-yard stare of hers. It's an absolutely perfect match with the headline and image.
What an embarrassing day. Stuck on that winner's stage with cameras rolling while she just... stood there like a statue. At least nothing else went wrong after that.
By the time Hayato pushed open the club room door the next morning, he knew something was wrong. Seiun Sky was sprawled across the sofa like she'd given up on life itself.
"Morning, Trainer... Ah hey yo..." Her voice came out flat, lifeless.
She'd been like this since yesterday. Completely deflated, occasionally breaking into these vacant little smiles that didn't reach her eyes. The poor girl looked like her soul had left her body.
"Alright, no training today." Hayato sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "We need to figure out this whole winning stage thing first."
Even as Hayato said it, he knew he didn't have a clue where to start. And the worst part? This could eat up weeks of precious training time.
"Trainer..." Seiun Sky stuck out one foot, wiggling her big toe pathetically. There was a visible crack in the skin, tender pink flesh peeking through. "Seiun's feet aren't strong, I guess..."
She lifted it higher with all the enthusiasm of a dying fish. "Pushed too hard yesterday and... yeah. This is what happened."
A sharp line ran across her toe, a reminder of how much she'd pushed herself yesterday.
"Damn." Hayato crouched down for a closer look. "Okay, I'll handle it. You guys just hang tight. Be right back."
He grabbed his jacket and headed out. First things first, he needed that prize money if he was going to fix any of this.
The morning air was crisp as he made his way toward the school gate. Hayakawa Tazuna spotted him approaching and greeted him with that professional smile.
"Congratulations to Mr. Hayato on his Uma Musume's successful debut!"
"Yeah, thanks." Hayato got straight to the point. "So about that prize money..."
"Already prepared." Tazuna pulled out a brown envelope like he'd been waiting for this exact moment. "Your share of the debut race plus last month's salary."
Hayato peeked inside. After the school's cut and taxes, his 20% commission came out to 1.44 million yen.
'Damn.'
Just from a debut race. His hands actually trembled a bit as he held the envelope.
"Mr. Hayato, starting next time, we'll deposit directly into your account. Keep an eye on your bank notifications."
"Right, yeah. Appreciate it." Hayato couldn't stop staring at all those 10,000 yen bills. This was more money than he'd seen in... ever, probably.
He was already mentally tallying what he needed, medical supplies for Seiun Sky, maybe some proper training equipment, when a voice called out behind him.
"Excuse me, are you Trainer Hayato?"
A pleasant scent hit him first. Hayato looked up to see a girl with short black hair in a sharp professional suit jogging toward him, slightly breathless. The white trainer's badge on her lapel gleamed in the sunlight.
"Uh, yeah?" He quickly stuffed the envelope back in his pocket. No need to flash cash around. "Can I help you?"
"H-hello!" She extended her hand, a bit too enthusiastically. "I'm Kiriyuin Aoi. We entered the academy together, actually."
"Kiriyuin Aoi?" The name triggered something. "Oh, wait—" He shook her hand, the memory clicking. "You're the one who scored first place in the entrance exam?"
The Kiriyuin family. One of those big, prestigious trainer dynasties. And she'd beaten everyone else getting into Tracen.
This Aoi looked just like he remembered, only younger than in the game.
"I watched yesterday's race!" Her face lit up, purple eyes practically sparkling. "Your Uma Musume was incredible! That final sprint was just—" She made an explosive gesture with her hands.
"Ah, well..." Hayato rubbed his neck, feeling a bit embarrassed. "She did her best."
"Oh, actually—" Aoi suddenly looked shy, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a yellow coupon. "I thought you might need this. You know, after what happened on the Winning Stage and all. So I asked around and got you one."
"A karaoke discount coupon?" Hayato blinked at the "40% OFF" printed in bold. "Wait, you got this for me?"
"Well, I just thought..." She glanced away, cheeks slightly pink. "It might help?"
"Yeah, this is perfect actually." Hayato took it gratefully. Without this, he'd have to grovel to Symboli Rudolf. Or drag all three of them to some dingy karaoke place to learn from videos. "Thank you. Seriously."
"Trainer! Why'd you ditch me back there?!"
Another white figure came sprinting over. Happy Meek, unmistakable with her sleek white hair and that soft, slightly chubby face. She skidded to a stop next to Aoi, slightly out of breath.
"Eh?" Her eyes locked onto the coupon in Hayato's hand. Her expression shifted, confusion, then something like realization.
Wait, that's... isn't that the same karaoke coupon Trainer mentioned? Why does he have one?
"This is Happy Meek, my Uma Musume." Aoi gestured with obvious pride. "Meek, say hello to Trainer Hayato."
"H-halo..." Happy Meek's voice came out small, uncertain.
"Halo." Hayato gave a little wave, checking his phone. "Well, I should probably head back. Got people waiting. But seriously, thank you for this."
"Of course! See you around!" Kiryuin Aoi waved cheerfully as he left.
Hayato headed back to the training building, thinking ahead. First, get better equipment so no one gets hurt in a race. Then… deal with this karaoke situation. At least now, he had options.
Behind him, the moment he was out of earshot, Aoi's cheerful expression shifted. Her hand clenched into a fist. "What an excellent trainer..." Her voice dropped, competitive edge sharp. "Whether as a colleague or a rival, I absolutely won't lose to him."
Growing up in the Kiriyuin family meant one thing: Never accept second place.
Happy Meek watched her trainer's intensity with growing concern. After a long pause, she asked carefully, "Trainer... are we still going to karaoke?"
Kiriyuin Aoi's smile froze completely.
"Meek." Her voice went dangerously sweet. "I think my dancing skills are perfectly adequate, don't you?"
---
Happy Meek is one of those unique characters you can only find in the Uma Musume game. All of her aptitudes are A, even though her stats are just C. You can come across her in the game by using the support card for Trainer Aoi Kiryuin(It's an NPC enemy on Ura if I didn't mistake).