Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tracen Academy, located in one of the city in Japan

In the city where Umamusume’s gathered in basically one and only the best academy preparing some umamusumes on their racing career, of course the academy would garner some of the best attention, and thus, the city itself was affected, and thus became rather crowded, as many people there, rather human or uma’s, decided to live there and enjoy the hype.

Now, our focus wasn’t on this particular Academy, at least, not yet.

Let’s begin our trip onto the outskirts of the town, just around three to four kilometers from the renowned academy, where a sturdy-looking man was seen walking, nearing one of the old-looking but sturdy large building  just by the street. Sounds of clashing wood are audible very repetitively from there.

Those clashing wood was also mixed in with yells and cries which, according to its intonation, belonged to females. Though, instead of cries that were associated with seeking help or cry of despair or sadness, these ones wasn’t even close…the yells were somehow described power, like they were even closer to be called roar.

For most people who didn’t know what was going on in that place, they would be frightened and would probably steer away from the place. Thankfully, most people in the city, including the man himself, knew what was going on.

So he just waited outside the building, not even once trying to step into the building, because he knew he didn’t have to, at least not yet. He was just waiting for his cue.

And sure enough, after just a few minutes, the door of the building slid open, and a group of girls, which judging from their tail and ears, were umas, exited the building from there. They wore what basically a white, slightly baggy uniform and yellow belts were circling around their waists. After a bunch of them exiting the complex, there’s a pair of the girls which noticed the man and stopped in their tracks, immediately facing him and gave him a bow.

“Mr. Hashiguchi, Good afternoon!”

“Oh, good afternoon!” The man, identified as Hashiguchi, greeted back. “How was class today?”

“Tough, but I expected nothing less from Grass Wonder-sensei, the legend herself.” One of the girls replied. “Truly, if not from the past races when she was still actively running, I would never expect her solemn, calm figure to hide such menacing power.”

“That’s right, she’s a beast within.” One of the other girls chirped. “I would send deep condolences for you for having to keep up with her.”

“Oh, really?” Hashiguchi smiled. “I wouldn’t really say that. She’s a nice woman, really. Maybe it’s just because you haven’t known her well enough.”

“I-I could believe that…after all this is coming from her own husband and former trainer, of course you may know Grass-sensei better than we do.” The first girl replied.

“But, with that power, if she’s on rage mode, I can’t fathom how scary it will be, even to you, mister.”

“Haha, I appreciate your concern, but maybe you shouldn’t talk like that, because…” Hashiguchi just stopped and looked behind the girls. The girls soon followed suit and realized that the person herself just stood in front of the building with a smile, but unlike the sweet smile, this one radiated fear which quickly enveloped the group, well actually just the girls, but even Hashiguchi could feel it.

“Someone’s talking about me~”

“Oh no! I need to go! Please excuse meeee…” The second girl quickly ran away from the complex, leaving her friend stranded and dumbfounded at her antics. Realizing what had happened, the first girl, his friend, quickly looked towards Grass and apologized profusely.

“I’m sorry for my friend’s antics. I knew she didn’t mean anything harmful.”

“Right, just give her some slack, I’m sure she’s not badmouthing you or have an intention to.” Hashiguchi added.

Grass just smiled as she opened her eyes, revealing a beautiful light blue eyes that kind of resembling a type of jewel.

“Okay then, I’ll believe you. Just, tell your friend that she will have a few extra minutes for her next warm-up~.”

“O-Okay, I’ll tell her. Please excuse me.” The girl then exited the complex, leaving Hashiguchi and Grass in front of the building, just the two of them. Now with the two of them the only one left there, Grass’ eyes quickly found her husband’s, and a set of smiles along with blushes quickly revealed themselves.

“Welcome home, Yoshio-sama.” Grass greeted. “You…didn’t look as tired as usual today.”

“I did, but seeing my beautiful wife waiting for me just elevated my spirits back.” Hashiguchi Yoshio said with a very soft tone, the words just made Grass put a finger and flicked his forehead. “Ouch.”

“Oh, a smooth criminal you are.” Grass remarked as she slowly leaned in closer to Yoshio’s face, and captured his lips with hers, prompting a response from the husband. “We’ve been together for over eleven years and you’re still using that reason. It’s getting to get drier, you know.”

“As dry as it would be, it won’t be as dry as Rudolf’s puns.” Both of them giggled. “Puns aside, I really meant every word, I’m just…you know…not good with wordplay.”

“Yeah, I figured, since you’re mostly let your actions do the talking.” Grass said before faking a frown. “Which is why, it took us rather long to progress our relationship, despite being married for quite some time, because you’re too afraid to do something to me.”

(A/N: This is actually a setting in Grass Wonder’s Chapter in UmaYome Manga, please read them to familiarize the context, and shout out to that beautiful manga!).

“Yeah, I’m still feeling sorry about that. It was out of respect at first, but I realized it was just me being a coward.”

But now Grass Wonder’s fake frown turned into a sweet smile. “But at least, that moment sparked the change I wanted, and now here we are, a happy family: You, I, and two kids to complete our little family.”

“I agree. Though, speaking of children…” Yoshio looked at the direction of the building, “Is Screen and Yuuji inside?”

“They are. But…” Grass Wonder paused for a moment. “Are you not surprised that Yuuji is inside too? It makes sense for Screen since she’s also in my class, but Yuuji isn’t. I thought you’ll be thinking that Yuuji is in the house instead of the Dojo?”

“I knew our children pretty well.” Yoshio laughed.

Truth to be told, Yoshio wasn’t lying. In fact, it was a rather unique situation. When he said that he knew his children well, he of course meant both of his children. But specifically, he was very familiar with Yuuji. He of course was familiar with Screen, but he knew Yuuji better, and the reason is that…

“Mom, we’ve finished with the tidy-oh Dad!” The pair turned to see a young Umamusume and a boy following behind her. The Umamusume had brown hair just like Grass Wonder, but hers is only upper-back-long in contrast to Grass’ waistline-long, and her eyes are brown instead of blue. The boy was the opposite, he had short black hair like his father, but his eyes is light blue, just like his mother. Both quickly embraced their parents.

And yes, the reason is that Screen, or Screen Hero as her full Uma name, is indeed an Umamusume, and so she would be more familiar to her Uma mother. While Yuuji is a human male, which is the same as Yoshio himself, thus he would be more in line with him.

“Yuuji’s a curious boy, he kept requesting to accompany us despite my warning that not only the class is for Umamusume, but also since Umamusume’s powers are much more powerful than human ones, I’m very afraid if he ended up hurting himself because of an unwanted incident. He insisted on going. So I permitted him, but he had to watch from a bit further, just so as not to endanger himself.” Grass explained.

“I personally thought Yuu-kun will just sit by and watch, but when we’re having a sparring session in the class, he took hold of one of our wooden Naginata, and actually trained himself.” Screen explained.

“That’s because I want to train like onee-san!” Yuuji shouted.

“In the end, I saw his determined eyes, his seriousness to train despite his wobbly moves. So instead of stopping him, I decided to help him train too separately while the others are sparring.” Grass added, in which Yoshio just kept a soft smile on his

“Well, that’s just like you.” Yoshio remarked. “He definitely gets that determination from you.”

“R-Really?”

“Remember when we first met, that you didn’t want to be scouted and rejected my scouting request for a while, fully determined to actually winning the tryouts and see your own problems first? Remember when you promised me that you’ll be the most powerful Umamusume, in which I promised to be on your side until you do? And then when you won the URA Finale, you were determined to tread each step with purpose, to reach the top. Did you remember that?”

“Y-Yoshio-sama…”

“Even when you’ve reached the top and decided to retire, you still kept on your ideal, and still tried to find yourself a purpose, which led us to eventually use this family Dojo. You also remembered how determined you are to learn and take certifications which led to you eventually opening your own class. All of that are fruits of your determination, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if your kids…our kids…are determined to follow your footsteps. Am I right?”

“Right…of course…”

“Anyway, if the kids have finished with the tidy-up like they said, shall we head back home?”

“I’ll be final checking inside the Dojo, then we can go back home.” Grass said.

And after a quick final check inside, Grass exited the Dojo, closed the Dojo entrance door and they went home together.

Grass Wonder felt like she was getting stripped off her secrets and embarrassing moments. But deep down she knew that what her husband told her was basically correct, and for him to actually accompany her from scratch until this day, which probably took around fourteen years of togetherness, that’s also a determination of his own. And now, her children are following her footsteps. As he had pointed out, she had made a promise with herself and with her husband, that she would always find a purpose to her life, and to tread each step closer and finally reached it. She had succeeded many times, and she wasn’t going back down for another one.

If she had seen the top, to the peak wonder, then her next purpose is to create a wonder of her own. She would raise her little family of hers, so that they could finally find each of their purposes and reach them. But of course, she’ll accompany them.

Yoshio will accompany them.

Even her friends will accompany them someday.

Because that peak wonder can start from this small patch of grass, this small patch of happiness, this small but lovely family.

Chapter Text

If there’s one thing that could describe Grass Wonder, it will be the word “Determination”.

When she was an active racer, she was determined to be the best of the best, to be the most powerful Umamusume the world has ever known.

When she won the URA Finale, she was determined to continue walking her path with purpose, still to be even better than before.

When she finally reached the top, and decided to retire, she was still determined to live her life to the fullest, finding new goals to achieve, with her friends and, most notably, her trainer.

And that one day, when she decided to tie her life with her trainer’s, she found an even newer purpose for her life. She realized that now, her new purpose will not just about her own life, but also her trainer, now her lifelong partner.

Much later, when two people joined their life, that determination fueled even more, with an even stronger desire to achieve her newer goal: To be the best wife and mother.

And to get even closer to that goal, she’s determined to learn as much as she can. Lots of trials and tribulations, but she knew very well that she wouldn’t give up, and she had her treasured family to also support her.

But of course, it would be more than just them who will support her…Again, she still had her friends, no matter where they were right now.

And somehow, there’s suddenly a chance appearing before her and her friends…

“So, are you going now?” Grass asked her husband, who was already wearing his trainer’s uniform.

“Yeah, I am.” Yoshio replied calmly

“Have you checked your belongings? Stopwatch, notebook, pen, or anything else? Remember for today, there would be no one who will bring them to you.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Just rest assured and just enjoy your reunion with your friends, okay?” Yoshio reminded.

Grass was rather disheartened by the fact that he couldn’t join her. So apparently, a few afternoons ago, her LANE group chat was so annoyingly noisy. Sure, it was usually very lively, but this time it was much livelier.

It was because of the fact that her close friend and rival, El Condor Pasa, decided that she would visit Japan on an international wrestling event, but she also insisted that she’ll stay longer for vacation, and also wanting to catch up with her old friends from Tracen Academy. Of course, her closest friends like Special Week, Seiun Sky, King Halo and of course Grass Wonder herself was rather delighted, and Special Week thought that she really missed her, and really wanted to see her after such long years that she decided to pick her up at the airport as soon as her plane reached Japan.

Unfortunately, King Halo would be busy early in the morning due to her own activities, and told them that she wouldn’t join in the airport, but she’ll join later in the midday. So it was decided that Special Week, Seiun Sky and Grass Wonder will pick El up in the airport. They also agreed on bringing their families if they could.

At least that was the plan,

Unfortunately, for Grass herself, Yoshio couldn’t join her because of the fact that he was in for an urgent training schedule. His new trainee’s debut is coming up just the next day after this scheduled reunion so he was needed at Tracen Academy for basically the entire day. That’s why, only her two kids, Screen and Yuuji will be joining her.

“Kids, please behave and don’t cause problems for your mom, okay?” Yoshio reminded his two kids.

“Okaaay!” The two replied, one enthusiastically, one quietly. They softly hugged their father, and when they separated, Yoshio turned to Grass who gave him a goodbye kiss on his cheek, which is almost always a routine for her.

“Alright then, I’ll be off.”

“Be safe out there, and wish you and your trainee luck.”

And just with that, Yoshio made his way to Tracen, and the rest of his family eventually prepared themselves for the reunion. Grass wore her Japanese-style outfit consisting of her classic blouse and a mantle or jacket over it, and a rather long skirt with a pretty specific length, which was a known trait for the older Umamusume (or is it Umayome/Umahaha now?). Screen also wore a more casual outfit like a blue T-Shirt and a pair of white shorts, whose color somehow reminded Grass of her racing outfit when she was younger. As for Yuuji, he just wore a standard white T-Shirt and black track pants, but a grey hoodie covered pretty much almost all his upper body.

“Mom, is Auntie Spe going to come with us too?” Screen asked cheerfully.

“That’s right. In fact, Spe-chan’s family will be the one picking us up.” Grass replied with a smile, a knowing smile, specifically, especially after she saw Screen looked so delighted when hearing that, especially after the follow up question…

“That means Shou-san will also be with her, right?”

“Should be.” Grass replied. Just as she had predicted, when Screen promptly asked about Spe-chan joining them, she would always ask about Shou-san, who referred to Spe-chan’s human son, Miyano Shouhei. The two had always interacted together pretty well even from their childhood, despite them actually being four years apart, to the point that sometimes either she or Spe-chan thought that the two might as well just grow up together well into becoming a couple. Of course, the two were still too young for so.

As she finished her own preparation, Grass turned to look at the clock, which showed just barely past seven in the morning. “El’s plane should be landing at half past eight, so Spe-chan should’ve been arriving pretty soon…”

‘Honk! Honk!’

“Ah, speak of the devil.”

Grass immediately reached for the front door with the intention to make her way to the waiting car. But instead, just immediately after opening the front door, a figure immediately crashed her and tackled her into a hug.

“Grass-chaaaaan.”

The figure appeared to be none other than Special Week. She practically looked almost the same as her racing days, the difference being her hair now as long as Grass’ and she had a rather more curvaceous figure, almost like a model, instead of her rather thinner build previously.

“H-Hey, Spe…”

Grass was dazed, but a part of her should’ve practically predicted this, because this particular moment was unique to Special Week, it always had been. It’s just she wouldn’t expect her to straight up ambush her right in front of her front door, especially with the fact that Spe’s family IS picking her family up and not them visiting her family like usual.

“I’m happy to see you again.”

“Spe, we see each other very often, there’s no need to be this clingy, you know. Also, you could be ruining your clothes.” Grass pointed out. “Is Miyano-san and your kids already in the car?

“A-ah right…sorry.” Special Week replied before straightening her own clothes, dusting off all the debris from her own tackle. “They’re all already in the car, so let’s hop in.”

So, after locking the front door, Grass and her kids followed Spe to Spe’s family’s car, where three figures had been waiting inside.

“Please excuse us, Miyano-san, Shou and Dignity.” Grass greeted the figures inside the car. On the driver seat is a buff figure that looked rather scary, but his face always showed a rather gentle smile. This is Miyano Kiba, Spe’s husband and former trainer. On the seat next to the driver was an Umamusume with short brown hair and some white streak with purple eyes, basically a copy of Special Week when she was younger, except her hair was wavy rather than straight. This is Win Dignity, the Uma daughter of Special Week. And finally, on the backmost seat of the car was a boy with short, a little spiky black hair and purple eyes. He had a lean build and was rather tall. His face showed a rather serious type. This is Miyano Shouhei, the human son of Special Week, and the one Screen really looked for the most.

“Sure, and please, just call me Kiba. My wife’s friends are also my friends so there’s no need for you to be so formal.”

“Alright, Kiba-san.” Grass replied, before tapping Screen on her shoulder. “There, Shou is on the back, don’t you want to see him?”

“Of course.” Screen replied before entering the car towards the backrow of the car, directly beside the boy, while Grass, Spe and Yuuji took the middle row of the car. And just with that, they’re on their way to the airport.

During the trip…

“Hey, Shou-san! Long time no see!” Screen greeted the boy beside her

“Long time no see my foot…” Shou mumbled with an annoyed face. “We’ve just met a few months ago.”

“A few months is long enough!” Screen feigned a pout.

“Yeah, yeah, if you say so.” Shou said before glaring at her. “It’s a long time and yet you still forget to tie your own shoes. Someone needs another ‘trip’ I guess?”

Screen looked at her shoes and realized that the shoelaces were all untied, much to her own embarrassment.

“Muu…you’re really mean.”

“Why thank you.” Shou replied with a smirk.

From the middle row, Grass and Spe just chuckled at the two children’s interaction, while Yuuji just facepalmed at their antics. For most people, what happened at the backrow seat was pretty much an argument within two people where one is rather fed up with the other. That’s not a wrong thought, but both women, especially Spe, knew better.

While it was true that Shou’s rather annoyed with how hyperactive and annoyingly cheerful Screen is. However, when Spe heard about the shoelace incident, she knew what her son’s referring to: a moment years ago when Screen asked Shouhei to play together, but Screen didn’t realize that her shoelace was loose, and therefore, she just tripped on it and fell down. While it didn’t leave too much of an injury aside from a scratch wound, it was rather painful for younger Screen Hero that she cried. Shouhei had to actually help carry her to Spe’s house at that moment, helping his mother take care of Screen’s wound.

So deep down, Spe knew that her son, despite the sarcastic remark, actually was just trying to remind Screen not to repeat the same mistake. He just cared about her.

“Oh well, can you two on the back tone down your lovers’ spat? You’re getting noisy.” Dignity called from the front row seat.

“Sis…seriously?”

“Lovers’ spat? What is that?” Screen asked with a confused expression, earning facepalm from the older teenage Umamusume.

“Screen was still too young to understand that, Dignity-san.” Grass replied before turning to her daughter. “You’ll understand when you get older, but what Dignity want to tell you is for you to be quiet, okay?”

“Okaaay.”

The journey continued for almost a full hour before finally they arrived at the airport.

They immediately went for the arrival waiting room, only for another familiar figure to greet them.

“Finally you all arrived.”

Grass and Spe froze as they heard that and looked at where the sound came from. It’s not like they didn’t recognize the sound. It’s more like they didn’t expect the figure greeting them to be right there: An Uma woman with back-length straight powder green hair and blue eyes, wearing what appeared to be a green jacket and black trousers. Her face showed a lazy but smug look.

“Seiun-san?”

“We’ve been waiting for quite long you know?” she said.

“Sorry to be rude, but I really don’t expect you to come this early.” Grass said.

“Well, I changed.” Seiun Sky smirked, before suddenly the small figure beside her, which looked almost like her except with shorter hair and some blonde streaks adorning some parts of her hair, spoke up.

“Well, Papa’s the one waking Mama up early.”

“Hey, don’t tell them that, Yoru.”

“Oh, so that’s that.” Spe is the one smirking now.

“Speaking of Papa…” Grass noticed that Seiun’s husband wasn’t around, he wasn’t seen together with the mother-daughter duo. “I didn’t see your husband, Seiun-san.”

“Oh, he actually has a meeting scheduled on his office. It just happened that the airport and his office was on the same direction from our house so he decided to drop us here before going straight to the office.” Seiun replied. “He’ll probably join us later in the afternoon, if nothing bad’s happening.”

“I see… I wish Yoshio could also join us this afternoon…but knowing his work…it might be rather difficult.” Grass said before the sound of announcement silenced the group

“Attention Please. All Nippon Airways Flight XXXX from Louisville had just landed.”

“That’s El’s Flight!” Grass noted.

The group then stood closer to the arrival gate, waiting for their friend to arrive and meet them.