Chapter Text
Agnes Digital was grateful that the trainers of Tracen Academy were provided their own offices at the academy. After all, there was no better place for her to spend her time without imposing her presence on the other umas around school.
At least, when she wasn’t actively spending time watching her many (many) oshis. Merely walking down these sacred halls was bliss for a simp like her!
Yet, as fun as it was to observe umas on a daily basis, there were moments where she needed time and space for herself. Usually when she was working on some fanart. Or fanfiction. Or finishing her doujins, for whichever con was coming up next.
None of which she obviously wanted to be seen by anyone at school. Or, goddesses forbid, by anyone who might find they starkly resembled the characters she was drawing.
Were she ever to be caught, she would have to leave Tracen forever, erase her entire online existence, and live in complete solitude in the most isolated place she could find for the rest of her days in repentance for her crimes of making an oshi aware of her and her Works.
In any case, Digital was a busy uma, and she really preferred not being perceived by anyone that wasn’t her trainer.
Certainly, one might say that she could do all of this in the sanctuary of her own dorm. After all, her roommate Tachyon spent most of her time in the abandoned classroom she shared with Manhattan Cafe (oh the things Digital could write about that), absorbed in research.
Unfortunately, Tachyon also loved bursting into their room at irregular times, as if she was hoping to catch Digital in some sort of forbidden act. Probably because the first time she had done so Digital had thrown herself over her tablet in a wild panic.
Her roommate had stared at her with those wide, curious eyes and that thin smile of hers, but Digital had refused to move until Tachyon had finished whatever business she had in their shared room.
Which. Okay. Maybe that was a little suspicious. It’s not like she was even doing anything bad! It was just anatomy practice! It was just an instinct ingrained with her from years of drawing in school when she really wasn’t supposed to.
Of course she paid attention to classes! And she studied properly, honest! After all, she couldn’t show herself in front of her oshis with subpar grades! Even if some kindhearted uma might offer to tutor her—
But no! Getting involved was forbidden! Even the mere fantasy of it was! That’s why she had to keep her grades comfortably high. That way neither her teachers, nor her parents or her trainer, Ms. Todou, could complain.
And yet, they also had to be just low enough to fly under the radar of the high achievers. Goddesses forbid one of them would perceive her as an academic rival! That was no place for an otaku like her.
So, considering all of that, it was very convenient that she could hole away in her trainers office at any time without bothering anyone else.
Or at least, until recently.
While, for their first year of training together, the duo had been lucky enough to have the office to themselves, a few weeks ago the academy had begun renovating most of the older offices. There had been a lot of reshuffling, and many rookie trainers—Digital’s among them—were now sharing their offices.
It could have been worse though. They had been paired up with Fukukitaru and her trainer, neither of which used the office much outside of discussing their training plans and paperwork.
Though, Fukukitaru would still often try to chat with Digital, because she was just so nice that she would even talk to a lowly simp like her.
A few times she’d even brought up reading Digital’s fortune, which she had to obviously decline the first few times, because, goodness gracious, she couldn’t just accept fanservice like that! For free! That was way too self-indulgent!
Except then Fukukitaru had looked at her with so much disappointment, those long ears all droopy. And making an Oshi sad was even worse than accepting fan service! So she had to do it!
And really, it made sense, if someone offered you something, wasn’t it rude to decline? They wanted to share something they enjoyed with you! So maybe it was okay to accept something from other umas sometimes! So Digital quickly backtracked and enthusiastically agreed to have Fukukitaru read her whatever fortune she wanted to.
Digital learned about fortunes she never would have been able to conceive of before that day. Truly, every day at Tracen was blessed, even if her fortunes were inauspicious.
All that aside, today she was blissfully alone in the office. Her training for the day was already completed, so Todou was perfectly happy to let her work on her doujins.
Her trainer had excused herself for some business not too long ago, though promised she’d be back soon, and the other trainer and trainee pair were still out at training.
So, alone and focused on her work as she was, the tentative knock on the door startled her so hard that she let out a yelp. Probably loud enough for whoever was outside to hear her. Most likely Tazuna, since she was really the only one who came by their office.
Not one to keep anyone waiting, Digital quickly leapt up from her seat at the table across from Todous, not bothering to hide her drawings like she usually would. There were too many scattered right now and Tazuna would just leave whatever message she had with Digital and be on her merry way anyway.
“Just a moment, I’m sorry, Ms. Todou and Ms. Chishiro aren’t here but I’ll let them knoooOOWAAGHJjdksdfmmMejiroDoberHelloimsorry!!!!!”
Digital opened the door and immediately scrambled backwards in a panic, as if someone had pointed a gun at her. Her tail stuck straight up in the air for an impressive and rather physics defying amount of time.
The girl at the door looked almost as startled as Digital, taken aback by the strong reaction. While Dober still tried to gather her thoughts, the younger girl already started speaking quickly again.
“Ah! Um! Hello Mejiro Dober! You’re probably looking for Fukukitaru! I’m really sorry but she’s still at training! She should be almost done with cooldowns now, so it’s probably going to be,” Digital threw a brief glance at the clock on the wall, “about 20 minutes until she’s here. You could go and pick her up from the track, but it should be fine if you want to wait here!”
Digital felt the fur on her ears bristle as soon as she offered. It was way too self indulgent to just invite an oshi in like that! But also it would be rude not to offer! This was only a lose-lose situation!
Well. She still won if Dober stayed, of course, but she’d feel bad the whole time anyway! It was a win-lose-lose situation for her! But, maybe it was fine to win as long as she also lost a little bit.
—
Mejiro Dober blinked, desperately trying to keep up with the girl’s rapid pace. Once she had finally managed to catch up, she tried her best to give the other girl a reassuring smile. She looked rather nervous, squirming in place and shrinking away from Dober.
She wasn’t scary, right? Had Air Groove's intimidating aura rubbed off on her? Then again, she thought she remembered Fuku mentioning that the girl she now shared her office with was rather hard to talk to. Maybe she was just intimidated talking to her seniors.
“Thank you for the info… Agnes Digital, right? If you really don’t mind, I’d rather wait here for her.” She said as she stepped in, closing the door behind her. Despite her attempts to come across as gentle, the other girl only fled further into the room, away from her.
“Wawawadfjyyou know my name?!” Digital’s face looked like something torn between excitement and terror. Her ears twitched back and forth rapidly, as if they couldn’t decide whether to pin back or prick forward in curiosity.
“Well, of course,” Dober chuckled. “Fuku mentioned that she’s sharing the office with a junior now. She’s mentioned you a few times. Ah, but I promise she only said good things about you!” She quickly assured.
To no effect, evidently, since Digital made a noise like a deflating balloon, shoulders drawn high. “Ah! Good! That’s good! Though I don’t think there’s much to say about me at all!”
Perhaps the girl just didn’t like having attention on her. Dober certainly could relate to that. “You knew right away that I was looking for Fuku, did she mention that we were going to hang out today?”
“Ah!” Dober watched the girl relax for just a moment as soon as the topic wasn’t on her anymore. “No, but I know you and Fukukitaru are friends, and I simply figured- ah, well, of course I shouldn’t just jump to conclusions! I apologize, I just assumed—I will make sure to repent for my transgressions…!!” Digital cried out before bowing down deeply in front of Dober.
If Digital didn’t look so completely utterly sincere, Dober might have thought she was making some exaggerated joke. As it stood, however, she just worried what repentance looked like for the girl.
“I-it’s fine! You were right, and even if you weren’t, that’s no reason to apologize, Digital!” she tried to reassure again, and she finally saw her shoulders, drawn high the entire time they’d been talking, lower the slightest bit. Dober was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she immediately saw the girl perk up again.
“Ahhh, you know! Actually! I could just leave and come back in, well, maybe half an hour! Then I won’t be bothering you!” She spoke, though whether she was really talking to Dober or to herself wasn’t quite clear.
“Oh, but Ms. Todou might get mad if I just leave a student alone here… But the Mejiro Dober wouldn’t cause any problems…” Now she was definitely mumbling to herself. Dober hesitated for a moment before she approached the girl carefully, reaching out a hand towards her.
“Digital, I’m not gonna-“ She was interrupted by another startled yell, the moment her hand touched the girl’s shoulder. Digital hurtled herself away from her. Unfortunately she had already gone so far back in the room that the only way for her to go was straight into the edge of her own desk.
Dober winced as the table loudly scraped across the ground. Several papers and pens were sent either flying or rolling off of it, scattering to the floor.
Panic welled up in her as she stared at the girl in front of her, hunched over in pain as she clutched her side. Her own hand still hovered in the air, unsure if she should try reaching out again. For now, maybe not.
“I’m so sorry! I really didn’t mean to startle you! Are you okay?!”
“YesI’mfine itdoesn’t—hurtatall!” Digital wheezed out in a strained voice that suggested it hurt a lot.
“Maybe… sit down for a moment? I’m gonna, ah, pick up all your things-“
“NOOnononono that’s fine that’s alright just give me a minute and I’m gonna be right as rain I promise and then I can go until Fukukitaru comes back-“
“Digital, I’m not going to kick you out of your own trainers office! And I’m not going to let you kick yourself out either! Now sit down!” Dober commanded, pulling out the chair from the desk, in a gesture that left no argument.
“Y-yes Mejiro Dober!” Digital squeaked, quickly sitting down with a pained wince that she immediately tried to hide.
In the meantime, Dober kneeled down to pick up the scattered art supplies. Her eyes couldn’t help but look over the drawings - there was undeniable skill to them, with an eye for detail that made her a little envious.
One sheet she picked up even seemed like a rough draft for a manga, that perhaps she looked at a little longer than necessary, even if she couldn’t make out the exact details from just one page of sketches.
Finally she placed the paper and pens back onto the desk in front of Digital, whose eyes had been glued to her the entire time. Her ears were pinned back lightly, her whole body hunched down like she expected a scolding.
“I’m sorry, if I spooked you earlier with my tone. Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes, please don’t worry! It barely hurts anymore!” Digital reassured a little too fast, while subtly trying to slide her drawings away from the older girl. Unfortunately, the motion just caught Dober’s attention again, making her perk up with interest.
“Your drawings are great! Do you draw a lot?”
Digital looked both nervous and pleased at the praise. The tail that had been twitching nervously until now started to wag just the slightest bit.
“Y-yeah! Usually I draw here in the office, but only on paper. Ms. Todou doesn’t want me to set up my tablet in here for safety, so I have to scan them and finish them in my dorm when my roommate is out. Ahhh, but I’m not slacking off or anything!!!! I only do that when I’m done with training and schoolwork for the day! And I just do it here because I don’t want to be a bother to my roommate!!! I’d rather not impose on Fukukitaru either but it can’t be helped, and she isn’t here as much, so maybe it’s fine!”
“Your roommate? She’s not kicking you out of your room is she? You should talk to your dorm leader about it if she is. Who are you rooming with?”
Was this poor, shy junior being bullied? That didn’t seem unlikely from how panicked and frantic she seemed this entire time. Maybe Dober could talk to Air Groove about her.
Yet Digital actually perked up at the mention of her roommate.
“Oh! My roommate is Agnes Tachyon! But she’s not kicking me out or anything, she wouldn’t do that! She’s actually rarely in our room herself, but if she ever needs the space, I wouldn’t want her to have to worry about me being there, too! So I try to stay out as much as possible! I’m even gone before she wakes up so I don’t interrupt her morning routine!”
This girl, who had been shrinking into herself this whole time, suddenly came to life, eyes sparkling and her tail wagging frantically behind her on the chair.
“It’s not like she’s ever asked me to leave or anything! If anything, she usually asks me to help her with her research!”
Alarm crossed Dober’s face. She’d heard of Tachyon’s research before, and never anything good.. “Is that so? She’s… not making you ingest anything strange, right? I heard she has a habit of hassling people to try her supplements…”
“Oh, all the time! But Tachyon would never make anyone drink anything that she really thinks has a chance to harm anyone! Sometimes they taste bad or they give me a stomach ache, but that’s really all! Besides, she always warns me about those kinds of side-effects!”
Then a soft, dejected sigh escaped her. “Though it is unfortunate whenever we land on the side-effect that makes me glow, because that would completely ruin any live concerts I would go to obviously. But Tachyon just wants to help! And if I can help Tachyon help umas, then I am also helping umas! It’s a win-win-win!” She grinned proudly, not taking any notice of Dober’s alarmed face.
“Honestly it’s pretty self-indulgent of me. I mean, I’m just a fan, so to get so involved with another uma is already totally crossing the line, but other umas might be troubled if they have to play guinea pig for Tachyon, so it’s fine right…? Though if the supplements actually work, I’d rather not have a chemical advantage over other umas…”
Digital had turned to mumbling herself by the end of her rambling, which once again stunlocked Dober.
“Fan? But you’ve had your debut earlier this year, right? You’re an active racer yourself?”
She asked in confusion.
Digital shrank in on herself again, though this time she looked troubled rather than panicked.
“I suppose I am, but… still! I am only racing to be closer to other umas! At the end of the day I’m a mere fan and simp, on and off the track, and it’d be arrogant of me to get involved—“
Digitals suddenly froze in her rambling, stunned by the sensation of hand being gently placed on her head (careful to avoid the bow, of course). All she could do was look up at Dober with wide eyes and a face that was growing redder by the second.
Oh no. Dober was starting to understand why some of the girls at school enjoyed teasing their juniors. Digital gave her a new, adorable reaction with every single thing she did.
For now though, she pushed those thoughts to the side and focused on the troubled girl instead.
“I don’t think the reasons for why you run have to mean that you can’t talk to other umas. At the end of the day, you’re racing like everyone else. Regardless of how you see yourself, other runners will see you as a fellow racer and umamusume.”
She briefly ruffled the girl’s hair before finally retracting her hand - she wasn’t even sure if Digital had heard, with how completely frozen she had been this entire time. Maybe she didn’t like being touched? With how she reacted before… That made Dober feel a little guilty, but she’d just have to keep it in mind for the future.
Turning away to give Digital a moment to recollect, she crossed the room in a few strides to nab a chair from the other side of the office. While Dober was at it, she sent a quick message to Fuku about where she was waiting. When she looked back, Digital was looking down at the table, hand touching where Dober’s had lingered before. Noticing that she was being watched, the smaller uma perked up.
“I’ll… I’ll keep it in mind…!” She said, though her voice sounded doubtful of Dober’s words. That was alright. Whatever issues Digital was facing didn’t seem like something that could be solved with a few encouraging words, but maybe Dober could guide her a little more in the future. It’d be nice to help other girls the way Air Groove had helped her.
For Dober, her time running in the Twinkle Series had done so much to help her overcome her own shyness. She still wasn’t the best at talking to people, and she still didn’t like having too much attention on her, but she handled herself far better than she did before she debuted. Maybe, hopefully, the same would work for Digital. Especially if she had help along the way.
And even if she wasn’t good with most people, Digital was surprisingly easy to talk to. Maybe she was just so high strung that it was hard to remember to be shy while you tried to follow her pace.
The thought made her giggle while she carried the chair over to sit down next to Digital, who looked surprised. Maybe she wasn’t used to people taking an interest in her. And aside from her confidence issues, which maybe made Dober want to take her under her wing, she was interested in something else about Digital.
The older girl sat down next to Digital and quickly, though carefully, dragged the pile of drawings she had picked up earlier back towards her. The top page was still the manga-esque page she had seen earlier.
“Soooo, you’re quite the artist, huh? Are you aiming to do it professionally after you retire, or even become a mangaka?”
Digital squirmed in her seat, refusing to meet the taller girl’s eyes, hands inching forward to retrieve her art before she retracted them again.
“Ah, um. Well. I do commissions sometimes to pad out my savings for buying merch and… stuff, and some other… things I have to pay for out of pocket, but I don’t know if it’s something I could do professionally. I mean I just draw for fun because I love drawing umas and… and it’s… not really a manga—it’sadoujin.”
Dober perks up a little more as the smaller uma begins to ramble again. “Um! They’re mostly. Well they’re all about uma stuff, I don’t really talk about it, and I, well, maybe they’re inspired by umas around school.”
She gestured with her hands as she talked, doing everything not to look at Dober, who in turn was watching her with keen interest.
“And, um, I go to cons to sell them too, and—“ she paused, her ears twitching in several directions again. “And I’m sorry I’ve seen you at them too and I know you also make doujins and I bought all of them before and I really admire you and your work!!!” Digital said, her sparkling eyes and passion from earlier now directed at Dober.
It was finally time for Dober to feel shy, squirming in her seat as all that attention was suddenly directed at her. Though she also couldn’t help but feel a little pleased at the praise.
“I-I see… Well, I was hoping to talk to you more about drawing anyway, and since you make them too… it should be fine if you know, but please don’t tell anyone at school!” Dober pleaded.
The salute Digital gave her in response would have looked mocking on anyone else, but Digital looked so serious that Dober had to suppress a giggle.
“My lips are sealed! I won’t tell anyone! And if somehow, I do end up telling someone the three goddesses shall strike me down!”
“We don’t need to go that far! I’m sure you won’t tell anyone anyway. You don’t seem like someone who goes around blabbing other people's secrets.” She smiled softly. “Would you mind exchanging LANE’s? I really would like to talk to you more about art and… maybe about the doujinshis we’re working on? I don’t have any friends who share the hobby so… it would be nice…”
Dober felt more embarrassed by the second. She barely knew this girl, and she was just asking her to be friends over one shared hobby! And Digital was so shy too! Maybe she was being too forward? Maybe. Still… she wanted to talk to Digital more. The thought of being able to talk freely to someone about her hobbies just made her way too excited.
Her own contemplation just made her more nervous, but she couldn’t help but await the other girl’s response with hope.
Digital, in the meantime, was being torn apart inside by this moral dilemma.
She was a fan. A simp. She wasn’t supposed to get involved with her oshis at all - she shared the office with Fukukitaru, which was bad enough, but it couldn’t be helped. And she had to share her dorm with Tachyon, but she tried to take up as little space as possible, aside from all the merch she stored in there… which was admittedly a lot.
But Tachyon had said she didn’t mind it so it was probably fine!
But still, exchanging LANEs with Dober?! That was preposterous! Arrogant to even consider getting that close to an oshi! She rarely used it at all anyway, but she had been added to a few group chats for one reason or another, and it’d be rude to leave, so she just lurked in them sometimes. Which was already kinda too much, like, those were their private conversations! But it would also be rude not to keep up!! So!!!!
Then again, Dober would probably be sad if she declined. And making an oshi sad was also a grave sin. And she did want to talk to her about art… perhaps even gain the privilege of getting to see Dober’s works before anyone else… but no!! Such impure motives!!!
But! Maybe it was fine! For Dober’s sake! She would be at Dober’s beck and call and never bother her and only message when Dober wanted to talk!! That should be fine!!
“Okay! Sure!” She finally responded, a little too loudly, after what she hoped was still an appropriate amount of time. She was never sure how long her derailing trains of thoughts took her, and sometimes people looked at her weirdly. Luckily, Dober just smiled brightly at her while pulling out her phone.
Just as they finished their exchange, the door burst open, making Digital flinch away from Dober hard enough to almost tumble off her chair. Dober was distracted between trying to greet Fuku, who had just arrived, loudly, and making sure Digital was okay.
“Dober! Sorry I’m late! Ah, Digital, you’re here, too, good!”
She scurried over, rifling through her bag as she did, and finally pulled out a charm that she thrust in Digital’s face.
“Here, the good health charm I promised you!” She offered with a bright smile.
Digital barely managed to take it with trembling hands, reverence glowing in her eyes.
“Ahhhh, thank you so much Fukukitaru, I promise I will treasure it forever!!! You’re far too kind, I don’t know how I can ever repay you!!!”
“You can join me for a partner run and we’re even!” The older girl replied cheerfully.
“ASjhsdfsd?! Run? With you? I couldn’t possibly, I—“
“That’s a wonderful suggestion, Fuku. I’m sure it would greatly benefit both of you if you did some runs together. I’ll hammer something out with Chishiro when she’s back, and I know Digital will be happy to join you. Right, Digital?”
A woman had entered the office behind Fuku. Her short, stout figure didn’t seem very imposing, yet something about her stoic demeanor left no room for argument.
Digital made a soft noise that reminded Dober of a sad husky before she slumped down in defeat. “Y-yes, Ms. Todou…”
The trainer nodded, and though her face didn’t shift, something pleased was gleaming in her eyes. “Excellent.”
Finally, her gaze finally shifted over to Dober, looking curious. Before she could even pose a question, Digital jumped up, hands gesturing quickly.
“D-Dober was just waiting here for Fukukitaru! I didn’t want to just send her away so I offered that she can stay here!”
“Yeah? That’s perfectly fine, Digital, you don’t have to justify yourself. I’m happy to see you make more friends.” She moved towards her desk as she spoke.
Her lips twitched in what might have been an attempt at a smile, as she nodded at the two seniors getting ready to leave. Mostly, it was Fuku rummaging through her bag to make sure she wasn’t missing anything.
Dober moved to wait by the door. When she looked over to Digital, she was neatly organizing the drawings that had scattered earlier. Her ears and tail were both twitching - there was barely a time where they weren’t moving, Dober thought.
When Fuku finally joined her at the door, she hesitated for just a moment.
“Digital!”
The younger uma immediately perked up and turned around, ears pricked and head tilted in a silent, eager question.
Dober smiled. “Talk to you later!”