Chapter Text
Pocket had spent the whole night tossing and turning in her bed, her mind fixed on the events at the cabin. Right now she was sitting at her desk, staring fixedly through the classroom window without paying the slightest bit of attention to the lesson. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she did not even realize one of her best friends was approaching her with concern.
???: [Pokke-chan... is something wrong? You look very distracted today.]
Pocket turned her head slowly toward the voice, blinking a couple of times to focus on reality.
Jungle Pocket: [Eh?... Ah, Dantsu.]
Classes had already ended and the room was almost empty, but Pocket had not noticed the passage of time.
Jungle Pocket: [Thanks for letting me know. Don't worry, nothing serious has happened, it's not something you should worry about too much.]
Dantsu Flame: [Really? I was watching you during almost the entire class and your gaze didn't leave the window pane for a single second. That is definitely something you don't usually do.]
Jungle Pocket: [Ugh... was it that obvious? Well, I guess I'll end up telling you after all. But we better find a slightly quieter place to talk without anyone listening to us.]
Dantsu Flame: [All right, that sounds like a good idea.]
Dantsu maintained her usual tender smile, moved by the genuine motivation of being able to help her friend with whatever was necessary. Upon leaving the classroom and finding a more solitary corner in the academy hallways, Pocket let out a long sigh.
Jungle Pocket: [I'm not very sure if it's okay for me to be telling this around, but I'll tell you anyway. Dantsu, please, don't go telling anyone else for the moment.]
Dantsu Flame: [Don't worry! I promise that my mouth will be completely sealed.]
Jungle Pocket: [My trainer... Nabe-san... is going to leave his post for good.]
Dantsu's ears pricked up instantly at the impact of her friend's words. Of course she knew Trainer Tanabe well; after all, he was a respected veteran at Tracen and many people knew his name and his impeccable professional career.
Dantsu Flame: [Trainer Tanabe will no longer be a trainer? I can't believe it...]
Jungle Pocket: [That's right. His health no longer allows him to keep up with us in training, so the best thing for him is to leave his position before something worse happens.]
Dantsu had already formed a fairly clear idea of what her friend was feeling at that moment. She knew that Pocket had been with Trainer Tanabe for a long time and on more than one occasion she herself had stopped to observe how that group of girls lived together. Whenever she saw them train, Pocket wore a radiant smile that was contagious to anyone, so finding out that her mentor would now leave them felt like a blow too hard to process.
Jungle Pocket: [But there is something else...]
Dantsu Flame: [But? What do you mean, Pokke-chan?]
Jungle Pocket: [Don't misunderstand me, it's not that I'm completely discouraged by his departure. In fact, what I want most now is for the days we have left with Nabe-san to be the most memorable and greatest of his entire career.]
Pocket showed that defiant smile again that characterized her so much, recovering that spark of energy that seemed to have gone out in the classroom. For a moment, Dantsu had forgotten about her friend's true attitude and how she never gave up in the face of fate, seeing every obstacle as a new challenge to be faced head-on. The only thing that now made Dantsu doubt was that, if Pocket really wasn't that affected by the news of the retirement, she didn't quite understand what had kept her so deep in her thoughts during the entire school day.
Dantsu Flame: [Pokke-chan, sorry to insist so much on the subject, but if you don't look that affected by the retirement, what exactly was it that led you to be so thoughtful during all the classes today?]
Jungle Pocket: [Oh... that. Well, there is another thing that I do not like at all about this whole matter. Since Nabe-san is leaving us, we have to get a new trainer so we can keep participating in the upcoming races without any problems. It turns out that Nabe-san has a grandson, and now he is the one who will be in charge of us.]
Pocket let out a snort of frustration and crossed her arms tightly, remembering Masayuki's face.
Jungle Pocket: [And the worst part of all is that he is an insufferable person. I swear I would prefer any stranger over that guy as my trainer, but I have no other choice but to accept it for now.]
As she finished her words, Pocket lowered her head and fixed her gaze on the ground.
Jungle Pocket: [Supposedly, our new trainer has spent the last few hours coming up with a detailed plan for these final days we will spend with Nabe-san. We agreed to meet this very afternoon at the place where we usually train so he can present his official proposal to us and see what he has in mind.]
Dantsu Flame: [So, what has had you so distracted all morning has been curiosity about that plan, or has it simply been the presence of this new trainer that won't leave you in peace?]
Dantsu looked at her with a raised eyebrow, trying to decipher if her friend's interest was purely professional or if that boy had really made a deeper impression on her than she wanted to admit.
Jungle Pocket: [Hey, don't say it like that! But well... you are right. Both things have made me turn it over in my head too much and haven't let me concentrate on classes.]
Pocket shook her head forcefully, as if trying to physically expel those thoughts from her mind, and then slapped her cheeks with her hands to regain her usual determination.
Jungle Pocket: [Anyway, it doesn't matter how much I think about it anymore. If I stay stuck on this, I'll end up falling behind and that is something I can't afford. For now, I'm just going to try to move forward with this new scenario and see what cards that guy has on the table. I don't plan on letting him ruin Nabe-san's last days.]
Pocket moved suddenly, slightly startling Dantsu, who did not expect such a sudden reaction.
Jungle Pocket: [Well, it's time! I have to leave right now, Dantsu. I'll see you another time, but right now I plan to get ahead of this afternoon's training so I don't waste a single second.]
Pocket raised her hand in farewell as she walked away at a quick pace down the hallway, leaving Dantsu behind watching her figure disappear into the distance. Dantsu, who was now left alone, looked briefly toward the sky through the window, letting her thoughts fly freely for a moment.
Dantsu Flame: [I really wonder what Pocket's new trainer will be like. If he has managed to leave her so impacted and thoughtful all day, he must be someone very special... Ah!]
Suddenly, Dantsu gave a small jump in place and raised her hands as she remembered something of utmost importance that she had overlooked.
Dantsu Flame: [I completely forgot that I had something pending to do with Cafe-san! I think it's still early enough to get there in time if I hurry.]
Dantsu moved at full speed, while her previous words about the new trainer remained floating in the air.
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Near the training cabin, Pocket’s solitary figure advanced with a determined stride along the path. Upon reaching the entrance, she immediately noticed the door was open, letting a bit of the cool indoor air escape. She let out a quick greeting expecting a response, but absolute silence was the only thing that returned her call. Peering in cautiously, her gaze fell upon the main table where Masayuki sat with his head resting heavily on the wood, slumped in a deep sleep while the rest of the place seemed completely deserted.
Pocket understood at once that the guy had fallen asleep from accumulated exhaustion and, since she had not the slightest interest in talking to him, she decided to turn around to leave. However, before crossing the threshold, her eyes caught a large amount of papers scattered chaotically across the table where he rested. Her curiosity ended up being much stronger than her pride, so with slow steps and taking care not to make the slightest noise, she approached until she stood at a very short distance from him.
Now that she was closer, she could distinguish that there were many more sheets than she had thought at first. Some were crushed under his face or trapped between his hands, serving as clear evidence of the very few hours Masayuki must have slept the previous night to finish all that work. Pocket could not help but think about how much real dedication he had put into that plan, reaching the point of neglecting his own rest for Tanabe’s well-being.
Jungle Pocket: [Idiot...]
It was barely a whisper that got lost in the air. With growing curiosity, she tried to carefully slide out one of the sheets that stuck out so she could read what it was that had kept that guy awake. She moved her hand inch by inch in an extremely slow manner so as not to wake him, but suddenly and without warning, Masayuki’s left hand closed firmly around Pocket’s wrist, causing a violent jolt in the runner herself.
Luck seemed to be momentarily on Pocket’s side, as Masayuki did not wake up suddenly despite the contact, although his hand remained clutched firmly to her wrist. She began to wonder desperately what on earth she should do now. If she tried to break free with a sudden movement, he would most likely wake up instantly and she would have to invent some absurd excuse to justify why she was so close. She was in a real bind, so she decided to let luck choose her path, moving Masayuki’s fingers with extreme delicacy to try to slide her wrist out.
Jungle Pocket: [Come on... let go already...]
It was a whisper loaded with nervousness. At that precise moment, Masayuki slightly moved his head on the table, alerting Pocket and making her stop all movement by pure instinct. He simply turned his face to one side, showing a deeply asleep expression that allowed her to let out a breath of contained relief... until Masayuki’s mouth began to move clumsily.
Masayuki: [I swear...]
Jungle Pocket: [Hey... I didn't mean to wake you up, seriously...]
Masayuki: [I swear I will meet all your expectations... I won't fail you...]
Jungle Pocket: [Eh? What are you talking about?]
Pocket remained frozen in place, watching him with a mixture of confusion and wonder. Looking closely at his face, she realized that Masayuki still kept his eyes tightly shut. He was not talking to her, but was simply babbling in his sleep.
Masayuki: [I... I really promised...]
Jungle Pocket: [Promise? Who did you promise what to?]
Pocket stood there looking at him, trying to decipher the meaning of those mumbled words, but before she could process anything else, a familiar and calm voice arrived from the cabin entrance, breaking the silence.
???: [My, I see you two are quite ahead of the agreed time.]
Jungle Pocket: [Hmp?]
Pocket turned her head with a sharp movement and saw Fuji Kiseki’s figure leaning against the doorframe, watching her with a serene smile that seemed to know much more than she let on. In that moment of panic, Pocket felt a surge of adrenaline and managed to wrench herself free from Masayuki’s hand with great force, which caused the boy to wake up suddenly from the abrupt movement.
Jungle Pocket: [Fuji-san! How long have you been standing there? I didn't hear you arrive.]
Fuji Kiseki: [I just got here.]
Masayuki: [I... eh? Fuji-san? Jungle Pocket?]
Masayuki, who had just opened his eyes in total bewilderment, looked back and forth between Pocket and Fuji, understanding absolutely nothing of what was happening around him. He rubbed his face tiredly until he finally realized he had fallen sound asleep over his own notes.
Masayuki rubbed his eyes again, trying to wake himself up completely while regaining his posture in the chair.
Masayuki: [I am very sorry if I made you wait too long by falling asleep like that.]
Fuji Kiseki: [Do not worry about that. It is still early for the agreed meeting time, and for now only the two of us are present here.]
Masayuki: [I see. For a moment I thought I had overdone it with the sleep and that it was much later than it seems.]
His eyes, still somewhat clouded by sleep, directed themselves straight toward Pocket with an expression of gratitude she did not expect at all.
Masayuki: [Thank you, Jungle Pocket. I believe it was you who woke me up with that movement a moment ago.]
Jungle Pocket: [Eh? Ah... yeah, sure.]
Pocket simply nodded quickly in response to Masayuki's gratitude, trying to act as naturally as possible to avoid any kind of misinterpretation by Fuji or the boy himself about what she was actually doing so close to him. The young man stood up from his seat and began to tidy all the papers scattered across the table, gathering them carefully into a single organized pile. That gesture immediately caught Fuji's attention, and she stepped a bit closer to observe the amount of accumulated work—though she noticed that on Masayuki's right hand, there were bandages covering his knuckles, she decided not to ask about it for the time being.
Fuji Kiseki: [It is clear there is a lot of dedication put into all these papers, is there not?]
Masayuki: [Uh? Well... yes. I just want to make sure everything goes as well as possible for these last few days.]
Fuji Kiseki: [Rest assured that these days will be unforgettable for him.]
Masayuki: [I truly hope so. Now I must get ready briefly and organize my ideas a bit more, as I am sure the others will be here in a while. Ah... by the way, Trainer Tanabe will not be attending this meeting today. I specifically told him that everything we do from now on will be a surprise for him.]
Fuji Kiseki: [On my part, I think that is a wonderful idea, I have no objections.]
Masayuki: [And what do you think about it, Jungle Pocket?]
He turned to look directly at the Umamusume, who had remained on the sidelines of the conversation, saying practically nothing. Pocket shifted her eyes in surprise, clearly not expecting him to ask for her personal validation after the tension that had existed between them.
Jungle Pocket: [My opinion on that? I think... it is fine. If it is a surprise for Nabe-san, it is definitely much better that way.]
At that, Masayuki nodded with a curt but polite gesture and stepped away a few paces to finish tidying his things, followed closely by Pocket's steady gaze. She sat there thinking about how incredibly different this boy looked compared to the one she remembered from their fight at the jewelry store, or the one who had answered her so coldly and distantly the day before. She wondered internally if they were actually the same person or what on earth had happened to him to show such a sudden change in attitude toward her.
The minutes passed slowly while the rest of the group finished gathering in the center of the cabin. Finally, Masayuki was the last to take his place, positioning himself firmly in front of all the runners to capture their attention immediately.
Masayuki: [As you may know, yesterday Jungle Pocket suggested the excellent idea of doing something special during these last days that Trainer Tanabe will be in charge. Thanks to the suggestions you gave me, I was able to adapt them all and come up with a single solid proposal.]
Ru: [And what exactly is that great idea, Trainer Masayuki? Do not leave us in suspense!]
Masayuki: [Do not worry, everything has its time and order. The first thing you should know is that yesterday I made several important calls and managed to establish a full schedule for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Since today is only Tuesday, we will only have to wait a few more days. Now then, I will tell you a bit about the plan for Friday; what we do on Saturday and Sunday will remain a surprise for now.]
Masayuki made a brief pause to ensure everyone was listening attentively before continuing with the logistical details.
Masayuki: [The first thing we will do on Friday is get ready in the afternoon, as we will head to Tokyo Station to take a Tokaido Line Shinkansen straight to Atami. Upon arriving at Atami Station, a high-capacity taxi that I have already reserved in advance will be waiting for us to take us directly to the ryokan I have also booked for us.]
Fuji Kiseki: [We are actually going all the way to Atami? That sounds like an incredible farewell plan.]
Masayuki: [That is right. It will be a short trip until Sunday, but I assure you that the places I have reserved are among the best in the area. And please, do not worry about the monetary aspect at all; I will personally take care of covering all travel expenses. All you have to do is prepare yourselves mentally and do everything possible so that Trainer Tanabe has a great time, as Monday will be his official retirement and also the day I will legally take charge of you. Tomorrow and Thursday we will train as usual, but I want you to take the rest of today off so you can organize yourselves and think about what you will do during the trip.]
Shima: [That sounds amazing! A group trip to Atami is just what we needed. I am already imagining myself trying out the hot springs at the ryokan.]
Mai: [It seems like a very peaceful and relaxing plan. I really like the idea.]
Jungle Pocket: [Well... it is not exactly what I expected for a farewell, but I guess it is okay.]
Masayuki: [I am very glad that you all liked the proposal. I think for now I will leave you to rest.]
Shima: [Wait a second! Since you will be our new official trainer, why don't we take the chance to get to know each other a bit better? Yesterday we did not have the right moment to talk calmly, and since there is no training today, we could chat for a while to break the ice, don't you think?]
Fuji Kiseki: [I totally agree with Shima. It would be ideal.]
Mai: [I would not mind knowing a bit more about you either.]
Ru: [I feel exactly the same. Stay a while longer!]
Masayuki: [To be honest, I did not expect this invitation... but it sounds like a good idea, so I will stay.]
Pocket, who had not participated in the proposal, simply mentioned that she preferred to go and train on her own and left the place in a hurry, leaving her companions watching her with confusion as she moved away. Time passed slowly until the darkness of the night completely covered the sky. Pocket had run a long way back toward the cabin to pick up some of her belongings before finally retiring to the academy dorms. During that solitary journey, she could not help but turn over what Masayuki had suggested hours ago.
Jungle Pocket: «We are going to Atami... straight to a ryokan.»
She closed her eyes while continuing to jog, trying to process the change of pace that was approaching.
Jungle Pocket: «I expected something much more exciting for Nabe-san... ahhh. Well, I guess I cannot ask for too much either, since he could not do extreme things because of his health. I think, after all, the plan is fine like that.»
When she opened her eyes again to focus on the path, she was met with a surprise. She could see in the distance, under the dim night light, the solitary figure of Masayuki standing near a tree she knew perfectly well.
Pocket's route forced her to pass right by that tree, so it was inevitable that she would end up crossing paths with Masayuki. Regardless, she did not care too much about running into him, so she maintained her constant jogging pace. However, as she got closer to the trunk, she could distinguish how small drops that glistened under the faint moonlight were falling from Masayuki's right hand. Standing just a few meters away, she clearly noticed the reddish color staining the ground, which made her stop dead in her tracks to observe him fixedly.
Jungle Pocket: [Hey... did something bad happen to you out here?]
Masayuki: [Ah?... It is you, Jungle Pocket. I thought you had already left for the dorms a while ago.]
Jungle Pocket: [I was on my way back to pick up some things. I saw you from afar and noticed that your hand seems to be... bleeding?]
Pocket pointed directly at Masayuki's right hand, which was covered by bandages that already looked soaked in a deep red.
Masayuki: [That... do not worry, it is nothing serious. Yesterday I had a fall and I got a somewhat deep cut on my knuckles. I tried to bandage it on my own, it just seems that the wound opened again a moment ago. It is nothing I cannot control.]
Jungle Pocket: [Are you completely sure about that? It looks pretty bad.]
Masayuki: [Yes, I am sure. Do not worry about me.]
Jungle Pocket: [All right, if you say so. And how did it go with my friends after I left?]
Masayuki: [I was able to get to know them all a bit better, it was a pleasant talk. Why are you asking me that now?]
Jungle Pocket: [I was just curious. I will continue on my way, it is getting late.]
Masayuki: [See you then. Be careful on your way back.]
Pocket resumed her path leaving Masayuki behind, submerged once again in the shadows of the tree. As soon as he was completely alone, the boy's face transformed into a grimace of pure frustration as he squeezed his injured knuckles, letting out a slight laugh loaded with bitterness.
Masayuki: [Damn it... of course I can... control it.]