Uma Musume Pretty Derby: To The Basement

A few rejoice, a few grieve.

Daisy, who could see her own yasashii Trainer every day and stick to him nearly every moment, could, under the envious gazes of the other Uma, happily hook her arm through Kaneshiro Takeru's and head to class, showing off her Trainer to her classmates.

But Rice Shower, who had built up so much longing, could only kneel on the ground at this moment, clutching her own Trainer's cold body, calling Mizuno over and over, hoping he would wake up again, or give any kind of reaction, even if it was just saying her name once, moving a finger once…

"Onii-sama…"

Rice Shower bent down, pressing her forehead against Mizuno's. At this moment her eyes could hold no other sight than him, and from the tears endlessly spilling forth, her vision was gradually blurring.

Onii-sama had already taken sick leave from the Academy for over a week, never returning. The instant Rice Shower first saw him appear in the teaching building's corridor, her heart, naturally, was nothing but overflowing joy—so much so that the desire she had repressed for so long broke its dam like a flood and could no longer be contained.

She wanted to throw herself into his arms, bury her head in his chest, then wrap her arms around his waist, coil her tail around his leg, binding the two of them tightly together, not parting until she was satisfied.

But Rice Shower's joy did not last long. Because Mizuno suddenly collapsed, it turned instantly into surprise, confusion, worry, fear, and…

A deep, deep self-blame.

Because what Rice Shower first thought of was that her own wish—the wish she had made to the Blue Rose sachet, to see Onii-sama again—had drained the energy inside. Without that protection, her "Misfortune" constitution that caused those around her to suffer could no longer be suppressed, and that was why such a strange thing had happened.

And Mizuno—her most respected, most beloved Onii-sama—was the very first one to be harmed by her Misfortune…

"I'm sorry… it's all Rice Shower's fault… all Rice Shower's fault…" she muttered to herself.

Ever since meeting him, Rice Shower no longer had to fear the torment of Misfortune. She could live a steady daily life like any other ordinary girl, and even if she prayed sincerely, the wishes she longed for would come true.

And it wasn't just her—even her friends around her more or less began to get lucky too: like winning a raffle, or finding discounts on the things they liked.

Rice Shower had thought she had already said farewell to her past suffering, that she could finally match the meaning of her name—bringing happiness to others.

But in the end, without the sachet's shelter, she was still no different from before.

Unlucky… cursed… hateful…

And now, even her Onii-sama who had given her hope had been harmed by her.

"Rice Shower… is a bad child…" Rice Shower choked, tears tracing down her cheeks, dripping onto her clothes, leaving dark wet marks.

After weeks, she spoke again the words she had once often used to belittle herself.

Before, every time she said them, it was always somewhere with no one else, muttered softly in private. Only she herself knew, so no one would contradict her, leaving Rice Shower alone to silently grieve over this wrong judgment of herself.

Only, today's situation was slightly different.

"Those words… I absolutely do not accept…" Not long after Rice Shower spoke that self-belittling line, someone raised an objection.

With that utterly featureless voice, a hand wrapped in black gloves—not a single inch of skin exposed—slowly lifted up before her eyes.

"Whoever offends my Rice Shower, Mizuno shall strike and Uma Pyoi them!" That hand pointed to the sky, declaring a vow.

"?!" The sudden threat shocked Rice Shower, making her lift her head in a panic. And then, at once, she recognized whose hand this was.

"Onii-sama?" Rice Shower looked down in delight at the one in her arms.

Though the hood of the [Doctor's Outfit] blocked her view of Mizuno's eyes, she could clearly sense that his soul had returned to his body, and his eyes were meeting hers.

Onii-sama had—miraculously revived!

But compared to Rice Shower's joy at regaining what she thought was lost, Mizuno himself at that moment was downright horrified.

"R-R-R-Rice Shower?!" The newly awakened Mizuno looked at the girl before him, cold sweat breaking all down his back.

The one who spoke badly of Rice Shower… was Rice Shower herself?!

Mizuno felt like his freshly rebooted brain CPU had crashed again.

In truth, he hadn't stayed long in Fortune's room. He'd just spoken a few words with half-dead Fortune slumped on the sofa, accepted a hell-difficulty commission from her, briefly doubted his life choices, and then walked out.

Who knew that the instant he regained consciousness, he would feel something soft and fragrant at the back of his head, like leaning on a very comfortable pillow.

But he didn't panic much.

Because Mizuno figured he had only been unconscious for a minute or two, not that long. And since it was in a busy corridor of the teaching building, it wasn't like some strange Uma would drag him into a basement and Uma Pyoi him.

So he must've been taken to the infirmary.

The familiar soft, smooth feel against his skin meant his clothes were still on him, not stripped off. Only on his forehead there seemed to be something pressing, cool and a little damp—probably an ice pack.

So there was no need to worry.

Just as Mizuno was thinking the pillow felt really comfortable and he might as well keep his eyes closed and nap a little longer, he suddenly heard someone say Rice Shower was a bad child…

"Hm? Who said that?!" Mizuno snapped his eyes open.

Someone dared to slander Rice Shower, that little angel? As her Onii-sama, how could Mizuno possibly stand for it!

"Those words… I absolutely do not accept…"

His brows knitted tightly, Mizuno instantly raised his hand in objection, his gaze fierce as he looked toward the source of the voice, to see who dared say such a thing.

He silently swore to himself: if he found out who had spoken those belittling words about Rice Shower, he would Uma Pyoi that person hard! Ten times over! Maybe even nine!

So, to show his sincerity, Mizuno pointed his finger at the sky and declared:

"Whoever offends my Rice Shower, Mizuno shall strike and Uma Pyoi them!"

At the time, Mizuno thought he looked incredibly bold and dashing, like a general with commanding presence. But once he understood the real situation, he regretted it.

Because after searching and calmly analyzing the voice, he realized…

That line had been spoken by Rice Shower herself.

"Uh…" Mizuno scratched his head, unbearably awkward.

Sigh… can he take back what he just said…

But words once spoken cannot be withdrawn. So Mizuno could only hope Rice Shower hadn't noticed, or didn't understand what it meant.

But…

At that moment Rice Shower's eyes had been filled with only him, her forehead pressed to his—how could she have missed his voice?

"Onii-sama… may I ask, what does Uma Pyoi mean?" Rice Shower's tone carried three parts joy, three parts doubt, and four parts curiosity, as she softly asked Mizuno.

What Onii-sama had just said wasn't hard for Rice Shower, who excelled in her language classes, to understand. After all, even in Japan's curriculum there was classical writing.

Combining it with the context just now, the general meaning of what Onii-sama said should be: (Whoever dares insult my Rice Shower, I will strike them, and Uma Pyoi them.)

Hearing Onii-sama actually say my Rice Shower, and that he would strike down anyone who insulted her—Rice Shower's heart, frozen over with sorrow just moments ago, suddenly filled with a spring breeze, patching up the broken gap and warming it once more, making it throb violently again.

So this was how high she stood in Onii-sama's heart…

As expected… she liked Onii-sama the most!

Only, Rice Shower had never learned the word Uma Pyoi, so she didn't fully understand Mizuno's meaning.

She only guessed from his tone that Uma Pyoi was some kind of punishment?

"Mm…" Rice Shower clasped her hands nervously to her chest, unshed tears sparkling in her eyes, like a pitiful little animal looking up at Mizuno.

"Just now Rice Shower scolded Rice Shower… so… is Onii-sama going to Uma Pyoi me?" she asked curiously.

Mizuno: "…"

Sigh… can this be settled…