Naturally, Meisho Doto didn't betray Kitahara Sota's trust.
But as for how she managed it at the time, even she wasn't entirely sure.
She only remembered that after Kitahara-san said those words—
Even though her heart still trembled uneasily, even though her brain still believed she could achieve nothing by herself, her body began to move obediently at his command.
After saying those words, Kitahara-san didn't immediately ask Doto to cooperate with his actions.
After all, the panic on her face was still obvious. No matter how much he trusted her, he wouldn't ask her to cooperate with him in that state. That would've been pure suicide.
So, in order to soothe her nerves, Kitahara-san gave her some gentle instructions before initiating the plan.
"Come, do it just like me. Put your palm flat, bend each finger slowly starting with your thumb. Now close your eyes, breathe in slowly...and out..."
"Mm, you're doing really well. Keep it up."
"Good, open your eyes. Maintain that breathing rhythm, and slowly lie flat on the ground—don't rush, don't make a sound. Take it easy…"
"See? You can totally do it. Good girl, let me reward you with a head pat..."
Kitahara-san smiled softly, gently rubbing that tuft of white hair on her forehead while glancing towards their next hiding spot.
"Good girl. Keep this calm state. We're going to crawl over behind that cover next. I'll go first..."
"No need to panic. Don't look elsewhere—I'm right here. Just watch me..."
"It's okay if you're slightly faster, just don't make too much noise."
"Look, I've even reached out my hand for you. Come over, and I'll give you a hug or another pat on the head..."
"Mmm, excellent."
"You see, you did it perfectly! Now, calm yourself down a bit more. Next, let's continue..."
It must be said, Kitahara-san's comforting method was extremely effective.
At first, Meisho Doto's face had been filled with fear and panic. Even though her body followed his instructions, she trembled constantly, almost making noises several times that nearly drew the hunters' attention.
Yet soon enough, with the completion of each small task—
The panic in Doto's eyes gradually faded, replaced by an indescribable sense of fulfillment and happiness.
As this fulfillment and happiness grew, the trembling in her body gradually ceased, and she executed his orders more and more smoothly.
Kitahara-san felt delighted—not just because their chances of escape increased, but also because Doto was clearly growing as a person.
What Kitahara-san didn't understand at the time was this: he thought Doto's change was due to his trust and the pressure of their life-or-death situation. But actually…
Well, it was a kind of transformation.
Only, the direction of that transformation was perhaps slightly different from what he had expected.
In Kitahara-san's imagination, after this incident—
Meisho Doto's clumsiness would've improved drastically. Her longstanding inferiority complex, born from constant clumsiness, would gradually fade, replaced by increasing confidence...
With such thoughts, Kitahara-san successfully brought Meisho Doto out safely.
After handing her and the other Uma Musume over to the police to contact their families, Kitahara-san reunited with his two teammates.
Then, after engaging in some friendly conversation—and a bit of revenge—with the hunters who'd been chasing him earlier...
Worried that the sudden disappearance of those Uma Musume hunters might later cause problems for him, Kitahara-san didn't say goodbye to the rescued Uma Musume. He just left quietly.
And so, after wandering for a while longer, Kitahara-san met Meisho Doto for the third time.
Then he discovered—things seemed slightly different from how he'd imagined.
After their last parting, he'd believed that, while not completely cured, Doto's clumsiness should have at least improved considerably.
Yet upon meeting her again, not only had her clumsiness failed to improve—it had worsened. Even her personality had become more timid and self-conscious than before.
Despite feeling a headache at this "Little Ancestor's" problematic personality—
Since he'd cared for her before, and had even rescued her, Kitahara-san sighed deeply, then stepped forward to ask about—and hopefully correct—her new situation.
But he soon realized that Doto's condition was even stranger than he'd imagined.
Initially, before meeting her again, he'd assumed her clumsiness had gotten better.
After meeting her, though, seeing her parents sigh in exhaustion as Doto tried to help wash dishes—and ended up breaking half the bowls—he thought he'd been mistaken. Far from improving, she seemed even worse.
But as Kitahara-san spent more time with her, he realized his original guess wasn't completely wrong—just incomplete.
Her situation had improved, just not entirely.
To be precise: Normally, her clumsiness hadn't improved at all—it might've even worsened slightly. Yet when following his commands, her clumsiness drastically reduced, and she often performed even better than an ordinary person.
What the hell is going on here?
After discovering this, Kitahara-san felt bewildered.
Why does this situation depend on who gives the orders?
But the strangeness didn't stop there.
After encountering Doto again, her eccentric parents once more happily tossed her into Kitahara-san's care, then promptly disappeared for a business trip.
Given his prior experiences, Kitahara-san thought, One more round isn't a big deal, so he agreed.
Then he realized: compared to the past Meisho Doto, this time her behavior seemed slightly off.
Of course, he already knew Doto was fond of him and liked sticking close due to his previous care.
But the problem was, previously her clinginess hadn't extended to bath time and sleep...
Though he eventually convinced Eclipse to handle the bathing issue—
Every morning afterward, in addition to waking up next to a small black-rice dango, there was now also a chestnut-rice dango nestled in his arms.
Yet even that wasn't the strangest part.
The strangest part was: after spending more time with Doto, Kitahara-san noticed something odd.
Even if this chestnut-rice dango woke up early, before receiving his command, forget about getting up—she wouldn't even open her eyes.
And this didn't just apply to waking up.
With each passing day, more and more things required his command before she would move.
Minor things in basic training, sleeping at night, waking up in the morning, how to dress, how to wash up—
In the end, even basic physiological activities like eating required his order. If he didn't speak up, even if she was about to faint from hunger, she wouldn't eat.
It was as if she'd truly become his marionette—without his orders, even if the house caught fire or the sky collapsed, she wouldn't move an inch.
Yet when he gave an order, whether logical or not, achievable or impossible, she'd instantly carry it out without hesitation or consideration for anything else.
Especially due to their last experience, Kitahara-san employed a gradual command-and-reward system, aiming to cure her clumsiness.
And indeed, it was effective.
After training her for some time, Kitahara-san found she executed his orders nearly perfectly—far surpassing ordinary people.
Even if her mind couldn't react in time, her body would still move immediately, truly becoming like his marionette.
After this bizarre state continued for a while, Kitahara-san finally couldn't hold back and asked Meisho Doto about the situation.
He'd expected her to be scared.
After all, losing control of one's body, responding only to another person's commands, even becoming puppet-like—any ordinary person would worry they'd been possessed by something unclean and rush to find an exorcist. Panic would be natural.
But Doto's reaction utterly surprised him.
Far from showing fear, when he brought it up, he saw genuine joy and excitement in her eyes.
"I...can really become Kitahara-san's marionette?"
Her eyes shone with excitement he'd never seen before.
Seeing her reaction, the corner of Kitahara-san's mouth twitched.
"Um, Doto, I think you misunderstood what I meant."
"I mean—although I've never encountered this before—I feel like if this continues, your own sense of self might fade away. You might become unable to act without my commands, eventually losing yourself completely…"
Meisho Doto was stunned briefly, but then her face flushed slightly, and she said a bit happily:
"Does that mean…I'll never again trouble Kitahara-san with my clumsiness? I can always help Kitahara-san properly from now on?"
Kitahara-san: "...…"
What the hell are you even paying attention to, seriously!
Kitahara-san sighed helplessly, preparing to explain further—
But just as he was about to speak, his brows suddenly furrowed. He noticed something important.
"Um, Doto, I want to ask you something."
He raised his head, gazing straight into her eyes with utmost seriousness:
"You...really enjoy being ordered around by me, don't you?"
At Kitahara-san's question, Meisho Doto's face reddened even more, and her tail wagged faster behind her, yet she answered immediately.
"Yes… After all, I'm always clumsy and confused, making mistakes and messing things up…"
"But Kitahara-san, you're amazing—you know so much, you always make the right decisions, and you're even willing to trust someone like me…"
"I really want to repay your trust in me. When you give me orders, I feel so reassured. I like it…no—I love it very, very much…"
After hearing her answer, Kitahara Sota finally realized where the problem was.
This child… She's turned me into her emotional anchor.
But realizing was one thing.
After realizing it, Kitahara-san thought hard for quite some time—and quickly realized he had absolutely no idea how to handle this problem.
After all, Doto wasn't an enemy or someone he needed to "solve." Her feelings toward him were trust and reliance.
Only, this trust and reliance were somewhat extreme. Coupled with her inferiority complex, it had warped into this twisted state.
Should he intentionally hurt Doto, deliberately shattering this emotional support of hers?
Impossible. Not only would he not do it—he wouldn't even consider it.
Then should he maintain the status quo, letting things continue, gradually turning Doto into a marionette who'd obey only him?
Even more impossible. Doto was a good child; how could he possibly watch her become something like that?
After thinking back and forth, Kitahara-san concluded the best immediate solution was probably to find her another emotional support—another pillar to share the burden placed upon him.
The problem was, he couldn't find one.
Due to her extreme clumsiness and the disasters she inadvertently caused, Doto didn't have anyone close enough to call a true friend.
And as for family—well, her parents were…
If he counted on those two, Kitahara-san figured he'd have better luck hoping Doto would spontaneously overcome her issues herself.
But before he could worry too long, he suddenly realized things might actually be easier than he'd imagined.
Because Doto obeyed him far too well.
"From now on, you should wake up by yourself, eat regularly, choose whatever clothes you like, and come to me whenever you encounter something you can't handle on your own..."
"Yes, Kitahara-san! I'll definitely do it."
Seeing Doto earnestly agreeing and later performing exceptionally well—
Though Kitahara-san clearly understood this wasn't a permanent solution, only temporarily stabilizing the situation to keep things from worsening—
It was enough for now.
So, in the following days, Kitahara-san gathered Eclipse's supplies while making various attempts to help Doto.
He tried to help her reduce her clumsiness even without his direct commands, become more confident, and escape this nearly pathological dependence on him—hoping she'd eventually live a happy life guided by her own will.
Sadly, by the time Kitahara-san left, none of his attempts had succeeded even once.
Yet he didn't blame Doto for this, nor did he feel frustrated or give up.
Before finally leaving, Kitahara-san smiled gently and extended his pinky finger, making a promise with her:
"The next time we meet, I want to see a brighter, more confident Doto."
Kitahara-san knew this promise was pointless.
Sure, Doto and her body listened to his commands willingly enough, but it still required something she could actually achieve. Clearly, this request was too much for her.
What he couldn't have anticipated was that many years later, at Tracen Academy, precisely because of this small promise—even though she knew he was right there beside her—
For almost half a year, Meisho Doto didn't dare approach him or reveal herself, believing she hadn't fulfilled their promise yet.
But today…
Looking at the familiar face before her, feeling that familiar sensation of having her body commanded again, Meisho Doto's eyes became misty, her tail swinging nonstop behind her.
"Kitahara-san…"
But soon, as if suddenly remembering something, her body stiffened slightly. Her eyes cleared once more, and an indescribable emotion flashed within.
What that person said...was it actually true…?
In truth, the reason Meisho Doto had appeared here wasn't simply because she'd spaced out and unconsciously followed him, as she'd previously claimed.
If it had been like before, the moment she saw Kitahara-san at the racetrack, she would've fled in panic due to their old promise—let alone follow him this far.
But at the very instant she'd turned to run, she recalled the whisper from that pure-white Uma Musume, causing her footsteps to halt on the spot.
"For a very long time in the near future, his situation will become extremely dangerous."
"Hm? You're asking me why?"
"Didn't I already tell you before?"
"His true awakening is about to begin."