Mizuno was gone.
When Urara and the others returned to the training room after their baths, they found no trace of him—only a single pair of glasses left behind on the desk.
"This is—?!" Daiwa Scarlet stared at the Intent Glasses on the table, her eyes widening in disbelief.
She recognized them instantly. These glasses were Mizuno's constant companion—he wore them twenty-four hours a day to observe whether the people around him harbored any special feelings toward him. Unless in extreme circumstances, he never took them off!
And yet, something so important had been tossed aside as casually as a water bottle—just lying there for anyone to take.
The scene resembled one of those television dramas—where the heroine, kidnapped by villains, leaves behind a single key item on the ground...
"Maybe... maybe Onii-sama just had to take care of something urgent and forgot them here. He'll definitely come back soon…" Rice Shower tried to comfort herself.
Unfortunately, they waited in that training room for a long, long time—but Mizuno never returned.
"Could it be—?! He was kidnapped by another Uma Musume?!"
...
Rice Shower and Daiwa Scarlet immediately spread the word to everyone.
"What?! Trainer-san's missing?!"
Tokai Teio froze in place. After a moment's shock, she suddenly bolted toward the academy's flowerbeds.
After all, the last time Mizuno disappeared, she'd found him there.
But this time, he wasn't there.
Only Air Groove stood silently among the flowers—watering can in hand—as she always did every evening, waiting for Mizuno to finish work so they could return to the tent together.
"Gone?!" Air Groove's eyes widened in alarm at the news. The watering can slipped from her trembling hand, crashing to the ground and splashing water all over her socks.
"Maybe he went to the back-mountain warehouse?" Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka immediately raced there to search—but found nothing.
"Or maybe he went to see my father to learn new techniques?" El Condor Pasa hurried back to her father's secluded mountain retreat that very night, flashlight in hand, checking every possible hiding place large enough to conceal a person—still nothing.
Everyone searched the entire Tracen campus and all nearby areas Mizuno might've gone.
They searched for a whole day and night—but not a single clue appeared.
It was as if Mizuno had simply evaporated into thin air. No one knew where he had gone.
...
The next day, all the Uma Musume gathered inside the flowerbed tent, staring silently at the large bed where Mizuno always slept beside them every night.
Tomorrow was supposed to be Urara's race day.
And yet her assigned trainer—her most important supporter—had vanished.
What were they supposed to do now?
"Onii-sama... where did you go…" Rice Shower lowered her head sorrowfully, clutching the lucky charm Mizuno had once given her. She prayed silently for his safety and swift return.
Amid the heavy atmosphere, the one girl who should have been the most upset instead stepped forward.
"Don't worry, everyone~!" Urara said brightly, hands on hips, her voice full of energy and faith, a beaming smile on her face.
"I know Trainer-san will come back!"
...
But on the day of Urara's race, Mizuno still didn't appear.
Even after the race ended, even after the Winner's Concert, even after all the spectators had gone home—there was still no trace, no message, no sign of the man who always took his responsibilities so seriously.
"Fifth place. Urara's result this time is fifth place..."
After the race, substitute trainer Kiryuin Aoi announced the results of the Kokura Junior Stakes to the gathered Team TAC members.
"This race was 1200 meters, a short-distance sprint, with eleven entrants total. The average level of competitors was around G3—not to be underestimated."
"In order to conserve stamina, Urara chose to run on the inner rail—but she ended up getting boxed in by opponents, restricting her speed…"
"Unable to push her way free in time, she missed her best chance for a final sprint, ultimately losing the opportunity for victory..."
"Trainer Mizuno… still hasn't come back…"
Kiryuin's words plunged the entire room into silence.
"Don't be sad, everyone~ Cheer up~! Trainer-san's totally fine, you'll see!" Urara raised her hands and chirped, trying to lift the gloomy mood with her trademark cheerfulness.
But despite Urara's optimism, unease and anxiety weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.
...
"Grr…"
At the door, Symboli Rudolf leaned against the frame, nervously biting her thumb, lost deep in thought, trying to piece together where Mizuno could've gone.
It was too strange.
With his personality, even if he went into seclusion for special training, he'd at least tell someone.
Like the last time, when he trained in the flowerbeds—he'd told Rudolf in advance. If something happened to him, they'd at least know where to start searching.
But this time was completely different. Mizuno hadn't told anyone before vanishing!
And he'd even promised Rice Shower and the others that he'd wait for them in the training room!
With how responsible Trainer Mizuno was toward his Uma Musume—and how much he doted on his little sister Rice Shower—there was simply no way he'd break his word.
"The only explanation... is that he was taken by someone he trusted," Rudolf reasoned.
After all, if an Uma Musume had forcibly taken a human, there would've been evidence—scratches on the floor from his hands, or tears left behind in resistance.
But there were no signs of struggle.
Not a single hair, not even scuff marks.
Which could only mean—he had willingly gone with whoever took him.
But then, a new question emerged in Rudolf's mind.
The Uma Musume Mizuno trusted most… were the very ones standing here.
So who else could it be?
Who else did he trust enough to follow—and yet wasn't among them now?
Determined to uncover the truth, Rudolf decided to use her authority within Tracen and her network of connections to investigate Mizuno's mysterious disappearance.
...
After three days of digging through various channels, she finally uncovered something suspicious.
"Gold Ship was released on bail? And the guarantor… was Trainer Mizuno himself?!"
Rudolf stared grimly at the mutual assurance agreement delivered by the staff of the Special Education Base. Both Mizuno's and Gold Ship's signatures were clearly printed on it.
Her brows furrowed.
Who had bypassed her approval procedures and allowed Mizuno to take Gold Ship out of confinement?!
"Could it have been Tachyon…?"
Rudolf immediately thought of that eccentric scientist who ran Tracen's underground black market.
If it were Tachyon, it wasn't impossible—she definitely had the means to sneak someone out under Rudolf's nose.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
What mattered most was—where had Mizuno gone?!
Her intuition screamed that Mizuno's sudden disappearance was directly connected to Gold Ship.
"Has anyone here seen Gold Ship lately?" Rudolf asked, scanning the group of girls before her.
"Me!"
"Me too!"
Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka raised their hands at once.
"When exactly did you see her?" Rudolf pressed, eyes narrowing.
"About three or four weeks ago," Vodka answered. "Trainer Mizuno was with her that time. But after that day, she just… vanished."
"The last time I saw her, she was hurrying out of the academy—carrying a shovel over her shoulder..."
"A… shovel?" Rudolf's whole body stiffened.
At that word, she felt a strange mix of affection and dread.
After all, the shovel was the essential tool for digging a basement. Every Uma Musume preparing to "build a cozy home" for her trainer had to be proficient with one—to dig out the perfect comfortable space underground.
Hence, the shovel was affectionately nicknamed the "Basement Relic"—much like how the crowbar was revered as the "Sacred Sword of Physics."
If she were the one preparing to build a warm home for Mizuno, Rudolf would feel nothing but tenderness toward the shovel.
But if another Uma Musume carried it—and that Uma Musume just so happened to be the one Mizuno fondly called Broshi—then Rudolf could only feel rejection, disgust, and rage.
"Don't tell me… Gold Ship abducted Trainer Mizuno into a basement?!"
---
T/N: noooo haru uraras race.... how can i forgive broshi...
...
dont worry bonus chaps will be released on sunday
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say thank you to Girantina for that thoughtful message