As she walked through the mall, Narita Brian could see her own reflection in the gleaming, freshly polished floor. There was a trace of fatigue in it.
She looked like a traveler with no destination, walking a road meant for her alone.
A bitter smile lingered at the corner of her lips, utterly out of place amid the happy expressions all around her.
Everyone who came here was probably in a good mood.
There was food and dessert, all kinds of things to browse and buy, restaurants serving every kind of cuisine imaginable. There was even a crowded arcade just ahead of her, packed with people.
Narita Brian's gaze landed immediately on the claw machines lined up a few meters past the entrance.
Inside them were plushes modeled after famous runners from the graded races.
Of course, there was one of her too.
She saw the doll with her own face on it. The expression had clearly been modeled after the look she wore after her dominant Arima Kinen victory: a little arrogant, a little proud.
She had not worn an expression like that in a very long time.
People always said that a person's state of mind eventually shaped their face. If that were true, then Narita Brian felt she had probably already taken on the look of someone perpetually weighed down by sorrow.
She drifted toward the machine and stopped in front of it.
The doll of her likeness had been buried at the very bottom of the pile.
A self-mocking smile tugged at her lips.
She knew that plush all too well. There was even a faint smudge on its cheek, as though it had gotten marked by something long ago. When she had come to this mall three months earlier, it had already been there.
And now, three months later, it had sunk to the very bottom beneath all the others.
Just like her career now.
A career that had already slipped so far from the public eye that hardly anyone noticed it anymore.
No one wanted to win her.
It was obvious from the arrangement inside the machine. The Offside Trap plushes piled near the top were clearly the most popular. Next came El Condor Pasa and Saint Halo, both of them equally beloved.
Two Uma Musume from Polaris, both wildly popular.
Narita Brian drew a breath.
Then she exchanged some coins.
Once upon a time, she had actually liked claw machines.
She vaguely remembered Toujou Hana taking her to arcades before. Brian had been reluctant then. Spending time away from training on something so pointless had seemed absurd. If Hana had not insisted that it would help teach her patience, she never would have agreed.
In the end, though, the "lesson in patience" had amounted to nothing.
Because Brian had won Hana the plush she wanted three times in a row, and the way Hana looked at her afterward had changed completely.
That combination of astonishment and longing in Hana's eyes had told Brian one thing very clearly: from then on, Hana was probably going to drag her to claw machines far more often.
Still, the feeling of grabbing something effortlessly had been nice.
It had always improved her mood.
She rested her hand on the machine. Coins dropped in, and the mechanical claw began to move.
Her eyes sharpened.
She only wanted the plush of herself, so she started by pulling away the dolls piled on top and blocking the path.
One after another, they came loose.
And with each doll she successfully lifted out, Narita Brian felt her mood lighten just a little.
At least this talent had not disappeared the way her talent for running had. When she needed it, it was still with her.
She took a deep breath.
Now she was finally close enough to grab the doll of herself.
Her movements were steady, her focus absolute.
She had thought it would go just like before.
But unexpectedly, she failed again and again.
Every time, the little Narita Brian plush would slip free by the head, tumble down the slope of the pile she herself had dug out, and roll right back into the hollow she had created, where it sat quietly looking up at her.
Sweat began to bead on her forehead.
Her motions grew hurried. Impatient.
But the plush that bore her face showed her no mercy.
At last, she stood there staring blankly at the doll still resting exactly where it had been.
Then she gave up.
Her hand rose slowly, stiffly, and her eyes began to sting.
Was this some kind of omen?
She could not save herself.
In the end, she would only sink deeper into the place where she apparently belonged, and finish out the tail end of her career there.
She turned sharply and ran from the arcade.
So she never saw the arcade owner, who had been watching the whole thing for quite some time, let out a relieved grin.
"Still the best lucky charm in the place," he said, looking at the machine. "So many people have tried to win that one and couldn't. Not even Narita Brian herself. Incredible."
He burst out laughing.
Then he walked over to where she had been standing.
Several plushes lay beneath the machine now, all the ones Brian had managed to pull out but left behind.
The owner first poked his head out to check whether she might come back, and once he confirmed she had already gone, he snapped a picture of the dolls lying there, just in case she returned for them later.
After that, he placed them all neatly back inside the machine.
Looking at the fully stocked claw machine again, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Perfect."
Then he said it again, even more happily.
"Perfect."
Narita Brian ran from the arcade, hurried onto the escalator, and rushed toward the first floor.
Quite a few people recognized her as she passed.
This was Narita Brian, after all, the Uma Musume who had once caused such a sensation across Japan.
Some looked delighted and wanted to call out to her.
But Brian had no room in her mind for any of that. She hurried past them all.
Their delight slowly turned to confusion.
No matter how hard Brian tried to hide it, some sharp-eyed onlookers still noticed the dampness gathering at the corners of her eyes.
They could not possibly understand what she was feeling.
By now, she was no longer just hurrying. She was running.
The crowd scattered to make way for her, and she gritted her teeth.
Then, suddenly, she remembered Saint Halo's phone call.
The invitation to go eat pizza together.
She really had wanted to go.
She had not seen her trainer properly in quite some time, and part of her had wanted to be closer to him again.
He was the hope tied to her dream.
And yet, recently, she had started to feel afraid.
Compared to Offside Trap and Saint Halo, did she still have the right to stand beside him?
Did she still deserve to call herself a member of Polaris?
After all, she too had once been a "betrayer," the kind of Uma Musume Shinji hated most.
Being allowed to receive his guidance at all was already more than she had any right to ask for, was it not?
As if fearing that, at any moment, even that fragile connection and her place on the team might be taken away, she had started convincing herself that it was better not to appear in situations where she was not absolutely necessary.
Better to remain in the shadows and make that borrowed time last as long as possible.
Narita Brian had never thought herself capable of becoming so insecure, so sensitive.
And yet, after already once breaking down, crying, and pleading in front of that man, she found she could no longer stop these feelings from appearing.
Before she realized it, she had already run all the way back to the academy.
Back to the training grounds.
Only there, staring at the track, did she finally stop in shock.
Then, slowly, she clenched her fists.
…
[Negative Emotion +100]
Shinji jerked upright in bed and looked toward the window.
"Whose was that?"
[From… Narita Brian.]
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter220)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (This matter is completely finished.)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 85
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 75
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 100
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 60
The Uma Musume Who Became 60
I'm Definitely Not the King of 80
After Maxing Out Every Class 80
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 44
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 57
I, the Elden Sword Saint 50
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 43
No One Knows Pokémon Better 50
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 45
From Trilobites to Titans 45
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 55
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 60
An Anime Heroine Darkened 55
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