The Uma Musume Who Sent Me Flying

Tokyo, Tracen Academy's Affiliated Hospital, Neurology Examination Room.

Behind the desk, a woman with brown hair cut short and long brown ears held a steaming cup of black tea in one hand and a brain X-ray in the other.

After examining the X-ray for a while, she looked toward the person across the desk. Her red eyes, patterned like Venetian blinds, gleamed with unmistakable interest.

"An Uma Musume hit you hard enough to send you flying ten meters at several dozen kilometers per hour, and all you suffered was a cartilage contusion?

"Hoho, what an interesting constitution...

"Would you be interested in becoming one of my test subjects, Anzai-kun?"

Sitting across the desk, the young man named Yasui Makoto shook his head rapidly without a moment's hesitation.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline, Doctor Alice Speed.

"Also, aside from the contusion, is there anything else wrong with me?"

Setting down the X-ray, the long-eared woman named Alice Speed cupped her tea in both hands and took a sip. Her eyes narrowed, and she curled her lips into a smile.

What an interesting young man...

A few months earlier, the academy had announced the results of that year's Central Trainer examination.

As usual, not many people had passed. But the top scorer's results had sent shockwaves through the industry.

Yasui Makoto, eighteen years old. He had graduated from the Trainer Academy just the year before, and earned perfect scores in every subject except the vocal exam, which covered singing and dancing.

Alice Speed had been astonished by that for quite some time.

She had retired early, but she had once been an active Uma Musume, so she knew how difficult it was to get a Trainer License.

The Central Level exam in particular was so difficult that passing it was practically a one-in-ten-thousand feat.

And almost every Trainer who earned a license was over thirty. Trainers in their twenties were few and far between, let alone someone as unbelievably young as eighteen.

At the time, she'd wanted to find a chance to get a few tissue samples from Yasui Makoto and study them.

Brain tissue would be best. That might even advance some of her research.

But she had to see patients at the hospital every day, work on her research, attend discussion sessions, and teach classes at Tracen Academy. She hadn't found an opportunity.

She hadn't expected him to show up on her doorstep today.

The reason he'd come was exactly what she'd just described: an Uma Musume had sent him flying at several dozen kilometers per hour.

Normally, anyone hit hard enough to go flying would suffer at least internal injuries or broken bones. Yet Yasui Makoto had only sustained a mild contusion.

And according to the Uma Musume who had brought him in, he'd even gotten back to his feet on his own after the collision, looking completely fine.

That meant he wasn't just unbelievably clever—his physical constitution was also astonishingly strong.

Now, what excuse could she come up with to give this interesting guinea pig a biopsy? Hohoho...

Alice Speed sipped her tea and pretended to consider his condition, her thoughts racing.

Under the gaze of those red eyes, Yasui Makoto couldn't explain why, but he felt uneasy. A chill crept down his back.

He'd heard a rumor about this Uma Musume. Apparently, she was very enthusiastic about conducting some kind of human experiments.

The rumor had never been confirmed, of course. But he was clearly fine, and she was putting on an act of seriously considering his condition. There was no way he'd believe she wasn't plotting something.

He could read X-rays not only because becoming a Central Trainer required sufficient medical knowledge, but also because in his previous life he'd been an "extreme stunt performer."

"Limit Special Skill" was a relatively new sport, one that fell under the umbrella of Extreme Sports.

It incorporated all sorts of difficult moves from other disciplines, and even increased their difficulty to some extent.

For example, front and back straight twists from gymnastics, flying armbar takedowns from Martial Arts Combat, and the double spinning lotus kick from Capoeira.

It combined these moves to create a more spectacular and challenging discipline.

The dangers of the sport spoke for themselves. In his previous life, despite his exceptional natural talent, he'd made mistakes before. But he'd met his end in an aircraft accident during an aerial performance, and then he'd crossed over into this world.

Then he discovered that this world was a little unusual.

There were no creatures called horses here. Instead, there were "Uma Musume."

They had long ears and horse tails, and were blessed by deities known as the Three Goddesses. Their physiques far surpassed those of humans, and they were born with extraordinary talents.

Their leg strength was especially impressive. Their average running speed could reach sixty kilometers per hour.

They also loved to run, and institutions dedicated to training them had sprung up as a result. Tracen Academy was one such institution.

As it happened, both of his parents in this life had come from Tracen Academy. His father was a Local Trainer, and his mother was a retired Local Uma Musume.

He hadn't hesitated much before deciding to become an Uma Musume Trainer.

For an "extreme stunt performer," the greatest dream was to challenge the limits of the human body—or to witness the most extreme performances possible.

Uma Musume looked just like humans, but had far superior physical abilities. They had unquestionably struck a chord with his dream.

He wanted to see what limits these creatures in this world could reach.

He also wanted to find out whether watching them perform could help him break through the limits of being human.

Fueled by this anticipation, and drawing on the memories and abilities he'd gained across two lives, he was accepted into the Trainer Academy right after graduating from middle school.

As soon as he graduated, he passed the Central Tracen Academy Trainer exam, and moved from his hometown to Tokyo a few months ago.

It was difficult for new Trainers to sign contracts with Uma Musume. Usually, they had to spend some time learning from a senior Trainer before gradually beginning to coach on their own.

Yasui Makoto didn't think he needed to do that.

Becoming a professional extreme stunt performer was no small feat. It would be an exaggeration to say all his abilities were the best in the industry, but they were easily first-rate.

On top of that, he'd started learning the professional knowledge required of Trainers early, with his parents' help. He was confident he could coach an Uma Musume into becoming a brilliant star.

But no one else was likely to see it that way. In the few months since arriving in Tokyo, he'd tried to approach many Uma Musume, and every single one had turned him down.

He'd been rejected again that day. Maybe that was why he was distracted when he waited at a red light to cross the street. When he saw a child nearly get hit, he rushed forward without thinking.

He saved the child, but got sent flying.

It wasn't a car that sent him flying, but a short-haired Uma Musume with black hair.

Fortunately, he'd faced situations that demanded extreme reflexes in his previous life. He instinctively adjusted his posture in time, and wasn't seriously injured.

He'd meant to leave right away, but the Uma Musume who'd hit him was clearly shaken. She apologized over and over, and insisted on bringing him to the hospital for an examination.

He tried to refuse several times, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. She was so stubborn that she looked like she'd follow him around until he agreed. In the end, he could only give in and come to the hospital.

He hadn't been hurt when he was hit, but after coming to the hospital, he'd run into the odd Uma Musume Alice Speed.

And now she looked like she wanted to dissect him. As a headache began to form, Yasui Makoto quietly thought of a way to get out of there.

At that moment, after studying Yasui Makoto for a long while, Alice Speed finally spoke in a drawn-out voice.

"As for anything else... it's too soon to say."

"If there's a problem that only shows up after a few days, that could be troublesome.

"So my recommendation is for you to stay here for a while, Anzai-kun, so we can observe you.

"Also, I think you should have some craniotomy procedures. We'll know more after we check..."

Yasui Makoto's scalp prickled. He immediately realized that the Uma Musume in front of him really was plotting to dissect him.

Before he could refuse, the door to the Neurology Examination Room burst open with a bang.

A short-haired Uma Musume with black hair came charging in.

As she crashed through the doorway, the handle made a horrible creaking and cracking sound before being torn off along with a large chunk of the door.

"A c-craniotomy?! Is it really that serious?!"

As Alice Speed stared in surprise and Yasui Makoto looked on in astonishment, the black-haired Uma Musume cried out. She then glanced at the door handle she'd torn off, then at the hole in the door.

"I-I'm sorry! I was so careless..."

She quickly hid the door handle behind her back and bowed deeply.

"H-Hello, Doctor Alice Speed!

"M-My name is Hokubu Genkoma! I'm a new student at Central Tracen Academy this year! It's nice to meet you!

"I-I... Anyway, I-I'll... I'll take full responsibility for everything that's wrong with Mr. Yasui!"

To put it simply, I watched the new PV for Gray Cinderella, and couldn't hold back the urge to write another Uma Musume story.

Also, because I was inexperienced with my last book, I didn't manage to write many of the stories I wanted to. I've thought about writing another one many times, too.

In short, I decided to write it.

I've already submitted it for an internal contract review. If you like Uma Musume, sports and competition, or everyday school life, feel free to add it to your collection.